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1993-06-10
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version 1.10
The Quick Bulletin Board System
for Atari ST computers
by
Jon Webb and Theo Runia
The QuickBBS ST package is Copyright (c) 1990-93 by Jon Webb and
Theo Runia. It is in no way connected to the QuickBBS PC
version. Read the license agreement for copyright information and
distribution rules.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
QuickBBS ST Page 1
QuickBBS ST Page 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1 : Introduction Page
License Agreement ......................... 5
Bug Reports, Questions, Ideas ............. 8
Notices ................................... 8
Thank You ................................. 9
Features .................................. 9
Overview .................................. 10
QuickStart ................................ 10
Documentation ............................. 10
Required Hardware ......................... 11
Required Software ......................... 11
Required Software for FidoNet ............. 11
Recommended Setup ......................... 12
First Time SysOps ......................... 12
Section 2 : Installation Page
Unpacking the Archives .................... 13
Directory Structure ....................... 14
Creating the System Files ................. 15
Creating the User Base .................... 15
Creating a Configuration File ............. 16
Installing 4KBUF .......................... 17
Requesting a Key .......................... 18
Running the BBS ........................... 18
Section 3 : Configuration/Operation Page
More about QConfig ........................ 20
Function Keys ............................. 26
SysOp Keys ................................ 27
Chatting & Yell Tunes ..................... 28
The Status Bar ............................ 29
Section 4 : Users Page
User Information .......................... 30
Packing the User Base ..................... 32
The Limits File ........................... 32
The TrashCan File ......................... 33
The Accounting system ..................... 33
Section 5 : Text & Graphics Page
Text Files & Graphics Modes ............... 34
System Text Files ......................... 35
Text File Control Codes ................... 37
------------------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 6 : Menus Page
The Menu System ........................... 40
Menu Text ................................. 41
Menu Structure ............................ 41
The Menu Editor ........................... 42
Menu Option Types ......................... 43
Menu Parameters ........................... 48
Automatic Menu Execution .................. 49
The Menu Optimiser ........................ 49
Section 7 : Messages Page
The Message System ........................ 50
Message Area Access ....................... 51
The Language Check File ................... 51
The UpperCase Check ....................... 51
Allow use of an alias ..................... 52
Allow 8 bit characters .................... 52
File attached messages .................... 52
Group number .............................. 52
LastRead Pointers ......................... 53
Packing the Message Base .................. 53
The Mail Area Lister ...................... 53
Section 8 : Files Page
File Areas ................................ 56
The File Search File ...................... 57
The File Area Lister ...................... 57
Transfer Protocols ........................ 59
Uploads & Downloads ....................... 60
Transfer Drivers .......................... 61
External Protocols ........................ 61
The Online Archiver ....................... 62
The File Browser .......................... 62
Mark File Menu ............................ 63
Section 9 : Doors Page
External Programs ......................... 64
DOR Files ................................. 66
Exit With ErrorLevel ...................... 71
------------------------------------------------------------------
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Section 10 : FidoNet Page
What is FidoNet? .......................... 72
Practical, please ......................... 73
FidoNet Organisation ...................... 74
NetWork Addresses ......................... 75
Points .................................... 75
What's a Mailer? .......................... 76
Import and Export ......................... 76
Installing the Mailer ..................... 77
Compiling the NodeList .................... 78
Writing NetMail ........................... 79
Reading and Writing EchoMail .............. 79
Generating EchoMail ....................... 79
Events and Routing ........................ 80
Exporting Mail ............................ 80
Importing Mail ............................ 80
Archived Mail ............................. 81
Batch Files and such ...................... 81
Section 11 : Appendices Page
A - Jargon Guide .......................... 83
B - SysOp Keys ............................ 97
C - Menu Options .......................... 98
D - System Text Files ..................... 99
E - Text File Control Codes ............... 101
F - .DOR File Commands .................... 103
G - VT-52 Escape Codes .................... 104
H - Ansi-BBS Escape Codes ................. 105
I - RS-232 Pins ........................... 110
J - FSE Interface ......................... 111
K - External Chat Interface ............... 113
L - Available Utilities ................... 114
M - Errorlevels & Parameters .............. 116
N - Example Batch Files ................... 117
O - Bug Report Form ....................... 123
------------------------------------------------------------------
QuickBBS ST Page 4
==================================================================
=================== Section 1 : Introduction =====================
==================================================================
LICENSE AGREEMENT
QuickBBS ST uses a key which can be requested from the Support
BBS. There are two sorts of keys available:
» A Demo key will operate for a period of 60 days. No more than 4
demo keys will be provided, and there must be at least one month
between the date on which one demo key expires and the date on
which the next demo key is requested.
» A Full key can be bought from Theo Runia. Once you have bought a
full key you are a registered owner of QuickBBS ST and have
unlimited use of the program. A full key costs 150 Dutch
Guilders (approx. $80/£50) and can be ordered by sending a
cheque or postal order for the above amount, made payable to
Theo Runia to:
Theo Runia
P.O. Box 1183
8900 CD Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
Please include a note with your name, phone number and key
number (which is displayed by QuickBBS when it checks your demo
key).
Now for the different methods of payment, in order of
preference:
» By International Postal Money Order is quickest on our end.
I just have to go to the post office to cash them. A postal
money order can be sent from your local post office. This is
fast as I get them within a week, and a full key will be
ready at that day.
» By EuroCheque is also fairly quick. Because EuroCheques are
guaranteed by the bank, your full key will be available as
soon as the cheque arrives here. Most banks charge very
little for EuroCheques.
» If you live in Europe and have access to a giro account, you
can transfer the money directly to mine. My giro bank is
called Postbank N.V. in Arnhem and my account number is
2740040.
------------------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------------
» You can also transfer money via the SWIFT system. This is an
international money transfer system. Almost all banks should
have access to this. You should show the following to your
bank:
Transfer 150 dutch guilders via the SWIFT transfer system
to my bank, my bank is:
Friesland bank
Zaailand 110
Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
My account number there is 29.63.18.418 on the name of:
Theo Runia in Leeuwarden.
The swiftcode for the Friesland bank is FRBKNL2L
With this code it should be easy for a bank to transfer the
money. But please mention your keynumber, it make's live
easier for me and you.
» A bank cheque of your bank is possible too. It should be
drawn on a Dutch bank. But normally this is the case with
bank cheques. The disadvantage is that I get the cheques
fast enough but I will have to wait 1-2 weeks before it's
cleared by the bank. But generally it's quite a good system.
If you have sent a cheque or postal order etc. and your demo
key runs out, just post a message on the Support BBS or send a
netmail. In general we will make an extended demo key
available.
We wil send a netmail via Fidonet if the key is ready, so do
supply your nodenumber. If you want the key on disc please say
so. This will however take longer.
Any invalid cheques and postal orders will be returned to you,
with a description of what was wrong.
And please don't forget to mention your keynumber, the number
of users is so big that it is sometimes diffecult to find out
who send the money.
If you have experience with international money transfers
which you think would be of use to others, let me know and
I'll include it in this file.
We reserve the right to refuse any key request. We also reserve
the right to withdraw your key, even a full key, if you violate
the distribution rules.
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The QuickBBS ST package may be made available for download as long
as you stick to the following rules:
» You may not distribute modified programs or documentation,
» You may translate the documentation, but the original English
version must be in the documentation archive,
» You may not distribute incomplete archives,
» You may not distribute the key,
» You may not charge anything for the package other than nominal
copying cost or on-line fees.
Violation of these rules will lead to the withdrawal of your key!
You can also send 2 formatted discs together with 2 international
reply coupons. You will be send the latest version of QuickBBS ST
and some nice utils. You can also request a demokey this way. Make
very sure you put on the disc a file or send a letter with your
name and address on it and include the following:
Sysop Name
BBS Name
Nodenumber
This way we can generate a demo key so you can start the BBS the
moment you recieve the discs back.
------------------------------------------------------------------
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BUG REPORTS, QUESTIONS, IDEAS, ETC.
The best way to contact us is via the QuickBBS ST Support BBS:
QuickBBS ST Leeuwarden
FidoNet 2:282/301, NeST 90:5/0
Holland +31-(0)58 - 153 849
300-14400 Bps, HST/V32bis
24 hours per day
The SysOp - Theo Runia - has been running QuickBBS ST ever since
the first version was tested, and can answer just about any
questions you care to ask. But don't forget he's doing all this in
his spare time, and might be very busy doing something else.
Another way of getting in touch is in the QUICKBBS.ST echomail
area. This area is currently also linked into the NeST area
N.GATE.QBBS.ST and might be linked to other areas in the future.
NOTICES
We can not be held responsible for any damages which may occur due
to the use of QuickBBS ST and/or associated programs and/or
documentation. If you use the system, you do so at your own risk.
QuickBBS ST is supplied as-is. If it doesn't suite your needs I'm
sorry.
We am in no way connected to Adam Hudson, the original author of
the PC version, other that he gave Jon webb the 'go ahead and try'
signal. QuickBBS ST was not ported, it was rewritten from scratch
in GfA 3.0 and Turbo-C/ST.
We have heard that Adam Hudson is no longer developing the PC
version, and has sold the source. We hope this will speed up
implementation of new features in the PC version. In fact we think
the new developers have 'borrowed' a few of our ideas, which is
fine by us.
When the name QuickBBS is used in this documentation, it relates
of course to the ST version, not the PC version. QuickBBS is often
called 'QBBS' or 'Quick'.
------------------------------------------------------------------
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QuickBBS ST Page 9
------------------------------------------------------------------
THANK YOU
A lot of people have assisted in the development of this package,
and it is impossible to list them all here. However, I'd like to
express special thanks to ...
» Theo Runia, the very first QuickBBS ST board and SysOp of our
Support BBS. Theo has been very helpful, coming up with ideas,
(lots of) bug reports and doing an enormous amount of listening.
From version 1.06 onwards Theo took over development.
» Jac Kersing, author of The-Box and Pandora, has spent many hours
on the phone with me, at first when testing The-Box and Pandora,
afterwards when technical problems arose during the development
of Quick.
» Iain Summers, for his help with all sorts of bits-and-pieces,
especially the internal Zmodem drivers, and for putting up with
me for a few days when I was over in the UK 8-).
» all the SysOps of our 'other' main beta sites, Lasse Eriksson,
Jens Fischer, Joop Koopman, Kaj Lehtinen and Erno Meffert and
Wilco Roos.
FEATURES
QuickBBS is a very powerful and flexible BBS system. A few of the
features which are implemented in the current version:
» The complete menu system, the menu text and the menu structure
are SysOp-configurable,
» Most of the other text the user sees is SysOp-configurable,
» Nearly all keys in the BBS are HotKeys, that means the user
doesn't have to wait for the menu or to be completed, he just
presses the key he wants,
» Up to 200 message areas, and an unlimited number of file areas,
» Fully FidoNet compatible, linking your BBS to 20000 others
worldwide,
» Uploads and downloads with Xmodem, Xmodem 1K, Ymodem, Windowed
Xmodem and Zmodem, and a powerfull external protocol interface,
» VT-52 Standard, Monochrome, Colour and Ansi graphics modes,
» New Mail pointers for each user in each area,
» Online Archiver with support for .ARC and .LZH archives,
» Language check, uppercase check and quoting in the line editor,
» Separate front-end for Stand Alone mode includes terminal with
dialer, VT-52 and Ansi graphics, File Transfers etc.
» External programs can be started from within the BBS, providing
access to doorgames, utilities and such. Most FoReM and Pandora
doorgames can be run,
» Free updates,
» Lots, lots more...
As you can see, no other BBS package on the ST offers so much for
so little money. And best of all: QuickBBS is very fast, otherwise
it wouldn't be called that, would it?
------------------------------------------------------------------
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OVERVIEW
QuickBBS ST is closely related to the The-Box system which was
written by Jac Kersing and Jan-Paul Middelink. It does not use
The-Box itself, but it uses the same mail utilities, due to the
fact that the message base is of identical format. Nowadays
Binkley ST is used more and more. Most mail utilities on the Atari
now use this messagebase, it's often referred to as the 'QBBS
format'.
The QuickBBS package consists of the following files:
» QINSTALL.PRG Installation program
» QKEY.PRG Key Requester
» QUICKBBS.PRG The main program
» QSTART.PRG QuickStart, for Stand Alone use
» QSTART.OVL Overlay for QuickStart
» USEREDIT.PRG The user editor
» MCONFIG.PRG The message base configuration program
» QCONFIG.PRG The general configuration program
» MENUEDIT.PRG The menu editor, written by Theo Runia
» FASTPACK.PRG The message base packer
» 4KBUF.PRG Communications buffer program
» XFER.00? Ymodem/Windowed Xmodem/Zmodem modules
These and other files have been placed in a number of archives,
ready to be extracted by the installation program.
QUICKSTART
QuickStart is a program which is run 'in front' of QuickBBS. It
initialises the modem, answers the phone when a user calls etc. It
also has a terminal with file transfer capabilities, Ansi graphics
etc. When a user calls QuickStart will start up QuickBBS.
QuickStart has its own documentation file.
DOCUMENTATION
This documentation is available in ASCII or in First Word Plus
format. The First Word Plus file has extension .DOC (with .GEM
illustrations), the ASCII file has extension .TXT and does not
contain any illustrations. A special print program is being
developed to print out the First Word Plus document and
illustrations. The program can either print a plain ASCII version
or - if you have GDOS (or G+Plus), a printer driver and a printer
font - a version with pictures, styles etc. Of course you can
print out the .DOC and .IMG files with First Word Plus.
If, after reading this documentation, something is still unclear
you could have a look at the QuickBBS PC documentation. More help
with FidoNet can be found in the Binkley ST manuals.
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REQUIRED HARDWARE
QuickBBS is currently being developed on an Atari 520 ST with 2.5
Mb of ram and a SM-124 mono monitor, and lots of HD space (+/- 500
Mb). It works on TOS 1.04, but should work oke on most TOS
versions. It also works with almost all HD drivers, at least all
the ones we tested. We do recommend that you install a cache
program to speed up HD acces, the mailscan really benefits from
this.
You need at least 1 megabyte of memory to run QuickBBS.
It might also be possible to run QuickBBS on a single or double
drive system, but I doubt whether you'll have a nice time doing
so. A harddisk should be used, but there is no technical reason
why it couldn't be done with less.
As for a modem, you will need a fairly Hayes-compatible one which
is capable of answering the phone, monitoring the carrier,
responding to DTR and switching to the correct baudrate. There are
so many modems out there that it is impossible to test and list
them all. The connection cable between the computer and the modem
is very important. It must have at least the Ground, RX, TX, DTR
and CD pins wired through. Complete pinout information can be
found in the appendix section. On highspeed modems (9600 and over)
you must use the CTS and RTS lines. For this to work on your Atari
you must install a CTS fix program in your autofolder, e.g.
HS_FIX, TurboCts, Serialfix etc. From TOS 2.06 onwards it should
work without. But do enable RTS/CTS in your modem control panel.
REQUIRED SOFTWARE
You will need a text editor such as Micro Emacs or Tempus. First
Word in ASCII mode (WP Mode OFF) will do, but I can't recommend
it. For creating screens a VT-52 and Ansi editor could come in
handy.
The QuickBBS ST is in .ZIP format, you need STZip to unpack it,
STzip is made by Vincent Pomey (hay vincent!). But you might have
to use some archivers like LHarc, Arc, Unarj, Zoo, etc. to unpack
all kinds of third party utilities.
REQUIRED SOFTWARE FOR FIDONET
If you want to run QuickBBS as a FidoNet node, you will need a
mailer in addition to the software mentioned above. At the moment
there are two mailers available for the ST: The-Box and
Binkley/ST. Both can be downloaded or requested from our Support
BBS. You will also need a shell (often called a Command Line
Interpreter, or CLI for short). PCommand is a good choice, but it
doesn't support command line parameters. PCommand is shareware.
Another possibility is Gulam. This is a Unix-like shell, it should
be possible to use that. A commercially available shell called
Craft might work too. Whatever you choose, the shell must:
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» Support batch files
» Support environment variables
» Support errorlevels
» If possible, accept a batch file to execution passed on the
command line.
Try to get one that doesn't take up too much memory. The examples
given here are for PCommand.
You wil also need a mailtosser, software to proces the incoming
and outgoing mailpackets. There are quite a lot, but we will
mention some to give an idea:
Bermuda,
Jetmail,
Marsmail,
IOS,
RECOMMENDED SETUP
The usual and recommended setup for a reasonable QuickBBS ST
system is
» Atari 1040 STf with either TOS 1.04 or higher
» Monochrome or Color monitor,
» Harddisk, we recommend to start at least at 30 Mb
» 2400 Bps or better a 14.400 Bps modem
» Battery-backed clock! Don't forget :-)
20 or 30 Mb of hard disk space is enough to start with, but a
major BBS often has 60 or 100 Mb or more. A second ST would also
come in handy to be able to do some work without taking the BBS
offline, though it certainly isn't essential. You could connect
that up via one of the cheap Midi networks, so you can preform
some tasks and still keep the system online
FIRST TIME SYSOPS
This is not a communications tutorial. I assume you know how a BBS
works from the users point of view, and have a reasonable idea
what a SysOps job is. If you haven't had much experience with
using a BBS, spend some time calling other (Quick)BBS's first.
Although you won't need to do any programming yourself, I will
also assume you know a fair a bit about your computer. Explaining
everything from scratch would make this manual a few MegaBytes
larger. Again, if you don't know much about how your ST works,
wait a few months.
------------------------------------------------------------------
QuickBBS ST Page 12
==================================================================
==================== Section 2 : Installation ====================
==================================================================
UNPACKING THE ARCHIVES
The very first thing you must do is check your system date and
time (if you don't have a built-in clock, that is). The date and
time must always be correct when you run your BBS. Strange things
will happen if they are incorrect.
QuickBBS is distributed as a set of three archives:
» Q_DOC.ZIP contains the First Word Plus version of the
documentation,
» Q_ASC.ZIP contains the no-frills ASCII version of the
documentation,
» QUICKBBS.ZIP contains the BBS system itself.
To install QuickBBS you must have STZip 2.0 or higher to be able
to unpack QuickBBS and it's docs. STZip is copyright by Vincent
Pomey and is available at most Atari BBS's, if need be you can get
it at our support BBS.
If you have one disk drive:
» Place QUICKBBS.ZIP on a diskette,
» Create a ramdisk large enough to hold the files in
QUICKBBS.ZIP, plus STZIP.PRG,
» Place STZIP.PRG on the ramdisk,
» Extract QUICKBBS.ZIP to the ramdisk,
» Insert a blank, formatted diskette in your disk drive,
» Start up 4KBUF.PRG from the ramdisk,
» Start up QINSTALL.PRG from the ramdisk,
» Choose Select Drive and enter drive A.
If you have two disk drives:
Either follow the instructions for single disk drive systems,
or...
» Place QUICKBBS.ZIP on a diskette in drive A,
» Place STZIP.PRG on a diskette in drive B,
» Extract QUICKBBS.ZIP to drive B,
» Insert a blank, formatted diskette in drive A,
» Start up 4KBUF.PRG from drive B,
» Start up QINSTALL.PRG from drive B,
» Choose Select Drive and enter drive A.
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If you have a hard disk:
» Create a temporary directory,
» Place STZIP.PRG and QUICKBBS.ZIP in that directory,
» Extract QUICKBBS.ZIP (after extracting this archive you no
longer need it),
» Start up 4KBUF.PRG,
» Start up QINSTALL.PRG,
» If you don't want to install the BBS on the current
partition, choose Select Drive and enter the partition on
which the BBS is to be installed.
One of the files you just extracted and executed was 4KBUF.PRG. It
must be placed in the AUTO folder of your boot disk, and must
always be installed when QuickBBS or QuickStart is run.
DIRECTORY STRUCTURE
The QInstall program can be used to create a runable demonstration
system which should help you get started. It sets up a directory
structure on the drive of your choice and unpacks all the archives
into the correct directories.
The first thing you should do, if you haven't done it already, is
to define on which drive or partition you want to install the BBS.
Use the Select Drive option for this. This doesn't mean you must
always run the BBS on this drive, you can always change it later
if you change your mind.
Now you must create a directory structure, using the Create
Directories option. You should not attempt to run QuickBBS from
the root directory, because root directories can't contain more
than 112 files. You won't notice this at first, but it might cause
problems later.
The directory structure QInstall creates looks like this:
\QBBS home directory
\QBBS\CONF configuration directory
\QBBS\TEXT text file directory
\QBBS\MENUS menu file directory
\QBBS\MSGS message base directory
\QBBS\OARC online archiver directory
\QBBS\TUNES yelltune directory
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD downloads:
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\GENERAL general download area
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\UTILS utility download area
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\COMMS communications download area
\QBBS\UPLOAD uploads:
\QBBS\UPLOAD\GENERAL general upload area
\QBBS\UPLOAD\UTILS utility upload area
\QBBS\UPLOAD\COMMS communications upload area
I've used some jargon here, but do not fear, all will be explained
when the time is right. If you can't wait, have a look in the
Jargon Guide in the appendix section.
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CREATING THE SYSTEM FILES
So we've created the directory structure, but everything is still
empty. Now we must fill them up. Remember you unpacked the
distribution archive QUICKBBS.ZIP? Well, you should now have the
following files:
» Q_PRG.ZIP program files,
» Q_CFG.ZIP configuration files,
» Q_MNU.ZIP menu files,
» Q_TXT.ZIP text files,
» Q_MUS.ZIP yelltune files.
These archives are unpacked by QInstall. Select the Write Files
option from the main menu.
QInstall will now unpack all these archives using STZip and place
the extracted files in the correct directories. When the unpacking
is completed return to the main menu.
CREATING A USER BASE
The next option you need to select is Run UserEdit. This option
starts up the user edit program. The user file is called USERS.BBS
and is located in the home directory. It contains important
information about each user. UserEdit will tell you it can't find
any LastRead pointers, and ask you whether they should be created.
Just say Yes for now.
The very first user in the user base must always be you - the
SysOp. To change this user record:
» Press Return and type in your name. If your name consists of
more than two words you should use a dot to separate the words
(e.g. Alexis Carrington.Colby.Dexter). QuickBBS only accepts one
space in a users name,
» Use Cursor Up and Cursor Down to move the highlighted bar to the
password field, press Return and enter a password of your
choice,
» Move the bar to the Security Level field, press Return and enter
500.
» Press Escape to save and exit.
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CREATING A CONFIGURATION FILE
QuickBBS gets most of its configuration from a file called
QCONFIG.BBS, located in the home directory. This file can be
created and edited with the configuration program QConfig. Select
the Run QConfig option from the main menu. You will see...
1 ... Modem Parameters.
2 ... System Paths, General Info.
3 ... Restrictions.
4 ... New user parameters
5 ... NetMail Information, Screen Settings
6 ... Toggles.
7 ... Terminal, Stand Alone Mode.
8 ... External Protocol interface
9 ... Accounting system
This is the QConfig main menu. For the moment there are only a few
settings which are of great importance.
Choose option 1, Modem Parameters. In this screen you can define
what commands QuickBBS should send to your modem, what speed your
modem works at etc.
The first important setting is Max Baudrate. Here you should fill
in the highest speed at which your modem can work. If you have a
highspeed modem (9600 and higher) you need to lock the modem at a
certain speed. The Locked Baudrate is the baudrate the RS-232 will
always stay at. Mostly the value will be 19200 .
Then move the highlighted bar (with the cursor keys) to Init
String. This is the command which QuickStart will send to the
modem when it starts up. It should put the modem in Auto-Answer
mode, which can usually be done with the command AT S0=1. It should
also make sure the modem tells us at what baudrate the connection
is. Most modems accept AT X1 to do this.
All modem command strings can contain a number of special
characters. See the chapter on configuring QuickBBS for more info.
A good init string which works with most modems is...
AT Z|~AT X1 S0=1|
Some modems need to be told that the carrier and DTR must be used.
This can often be accomplished with...
AT &D1 &C1|
The Reset String is the command which is sent to the modem before
QuickStart exits. A good reset string is
AT Z|~AT H1 S0=0|
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Init Response and Reset Response are the strings which your modem
sends back when it has successfully executed the init and reset
strings. A simple OK is generally enough.
Now press Escape to return to the QConfig main menu and select
option 2, System Paths, General Info. Another screen will be
displayed, and at the bottom you will see the two lines we need to
edit...
SysOp Name..........
System Name.........
Use the cursor keys to move the highlighted bar to SysOp Name and
type in the name you just entered in the user editor. The name
entered here must be exactly the same as entered in the user
editor, otherwise QuickBBS will not run.
Now move the bar to System Name and type the name of your BBS.
Then press Escape to return to QConfigs main menu.
Select option 5, NetMail Information, Screen Settings. At the top
of the screen you will see...
Zone Number ...........
Net Number ............
Node Number ...........
If your BBS is a Stand-Alone BBS, enter zeroes as Zone, Net and
Node numbers. If you already have a FidoNet or other (NeST,
AtariNet etc.) address, enter it here. If you don't know what a
FidoNet address is, just enter zeroes. Press Escape to return to
QConfigs main menu and Escape again to save the configuration and
return to QInstall. If you have several nodenumbers then only use
the main number, in most cases your FidoNet number.
INSTALLING 4KBUF
You must make sure that 4KBUF.PRG is in your autofolder, reset the
system first so this is active. Both the keysystem and QuickBBS ST
need this little buffer to be active
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REQUESTING A KEY
You can test and run QuickBBS locally without the need of a key,
if you want to allow users to login you must have a key, either a
demo or full key.
To get a (demo) key select Run QKey from the QInstall menu. QKey
is the program which can be used to request a key from our Support
BBS. The key is a small file which must be placed in the home
directory.
For people who live outside Holland: requesting a key from the
Support BBS should only take about a minute, so it doesn't cost
much. But you can also request a key via the mail, read the part
about paying for the key.
QKey will ask you a few questions. We would like to know some
things like your voice & BBS phone numbers, postal address etc. so
we can contact you if needed. Please fill in this information
truthfully. It will - of course - be kept secret.
At this point you must also confirm that the information entered
in QConfig and UserEdit is correct. The key will contain this
information. If the information in the key doesn't match the
configuration, QuickBBS will not run. This means that if you
change - say - your BBS name you will have to request a new
key.
QKey has a little terminal built in. Set the correct baudrate (the
Support BBS runs at all speeds ), and dial the number. As soon as
QKey detects a carrier it will take over. If you use a highspeed
modem (9600 and higher) set the baudrate to the locked baudrate,
mostly 19200. Otherwise it won't work.
If you can't get a good connect try to disable HST, use V32bis, or
disable MNP-5. And very sure that 4KBUF.PRG is active!
So now you should have your own, personal demo key. It should be
called QUICKBBS.KEY and placed in the home directory (QKey will do
this for you).
RUNNING THE BBS
It's about time we had a look inside the BBS by now! Quit to the
DeskTop and start up QSTART.PRG. When it's finished loading you
will see the QuickStart screen. Your modem will be initialised and
QuickStart will wait for the first caller. Press L (Local) to
start up the BBS. QuickStart will reset your modem and execute
QUICKBBS.PRG, the actual BBS program.
You can also start QuickBBS via a commandline interpreter (like
Pcommand). To logg in locally you must enter: quickbbs -l
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Quick will read the configuration files and check your key. And
then you can finally type in your name! Play around with the demo
system for a bit to find out what it looks like from the users
point of view.
When you've had enough, log off and have a look at the file
SYSTEM.LOG in the home directory. This file contains all major
actions, possible error messages and bits of interesting
information. It will grow and grow until you delete it. Any new
users that log in will be recorded in the file NEWUSER.LOG.
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=========== Section 3 : Configuration / Operation ================
==================================================================
MORE ABOUT QCONFIG
Well, what do you think of the demonstration system? Please keep
in mind that it is precisely that. It doesn't make use of many
advanced features of QuickBBS. Of course you will want to
customise your BBS, develop your own 'look & feel'. To do that
we'll have to explain some more about the configuration program
QConfig first.
» The Modem Parameters screen contains most of the modem control
information as used by QuickStart.
»» Max Baudrate is the maximum speed at which your modem works.
QuickStart can only operate at speeds of up to 2400 bps. If
your modem is faster than 2400 bps you will have to use a
mailer as front-end.
»» Locked Baudrate is the baudrate at wich the serial port is
locked. You need this with modems that are 9600 Bps or
higher. Normally You set this to 19200. And always use a
CTS/RTS fix in your autofolder as TOS <2.06 doesn't support
CTS/RTS. You could use TurboCTS, HS-Fix, Serialfix etc.
for this task.
»» Max Init Tries is the maximum number of times QuickStart may
try to initialise/reset your modem. If the modem doesn't
respond correctly after the maximum number of retries
QuickStart will abort.
»» Connect Delay (Seconds) is the maximum time between detection
of a ring and receiving a Connect. Used in manual answer
mode.
»» Answer Delay (Seconds) is the delay between detecting a ring
and sending the answer string. Used in manual answer mode.
»» Init String is a command which is sent to the modem when
QuickStart starts up. If you are not using manual answer mode
it should make the modem auto-answer. All command strings can
contain these special characters:
| Sends a carriage return,
~ Waits half a second before sending the next
character of the command,
! Sends a carriage return and waits for a response
from the modem,
^ Raises DTR,
v Lowers DTR.
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»» Reset String is sent to the modem when the BBS goes off-line
(e.g. when QuickStart exits or starts a utility).
»» Answer String is used in manual answer mode. QuickStart will
look for the Ring Detection string and check the RING pin on
the RS-232 interface. When it notices the phone is ringing it
will send the Answer String to the modem and wait for a
Connect string. To use the manual answer mode you must also
change a setting in the 'Toggles' screen of QConfig.
»» Ring Detection is the string your modem sends when the phone
is ringing, used in manual answer mode.
»» Init Response is the string your modem sends when it
successfully received the Init String. If this string is not
received from the modem QuickStart will try to initialise the
modem again.
»» Reset Response is the same as the Init Response, but now for
the Reset String.
» System Paths, General Info is where you define what directories
should be used by QuickBBS to access the system files.
»» Menu Path is the path leading to your Menu files,
»» Textfile Path is the path leading to your Text files,
»» Message Path is the path leading to your Message Base files,
»» OARC Path should point to a scratch directory which the
Online Archiver can use. This directory should be reserved
for the Online Archiver only.
»» Shell Program is the program which is started when you use
the Alt-J key (Jump to DOS) in QuickStart and QuickBBS. This
can be any program you like, but a command line interpreter
would be an obvious choice. If you want you could put
something like NeoDesk in here.
»» External Chat can point to a chat program which is executed
by QuickBBS when a user yells for you. If this program
doesn't exist, or if this field is left blank, the internal
chat is used.
»» FSE Program points to a Full Screen Editor which is executed
by QuickBBS when a user writes a message. At the moment there
is no such program, so leave this blank.
»» Nodelist Path is for FidoNet nodes. It should point to the
directory which contains your nodelist, translated with
XLTLST, ParslST or BTNC.
»» SysOp Name is your name. If a user writes a message to SysOp
this name will automatically be substituted. It should
correspond exactly to the name of the first user in the
userbase, and to the name contained in the key.
»» System Name is the name which you have given your BBS. This
can't be changed without requesting a new key.
»» Leave message in chat on board is the board number in mconfig
that a user can leave a message in after an unsuccesfull
yell.
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» The Restrictions, screen lets you define certain restrictions.
»» Start 300 Baud Access (HH:MM) and End 300 Baud Access: You
can define a certain period of time in which 300 Baud users
are allowed on your BBS. If a 300 Baud user calls outside
this period he will not be allowed in. If you don't want such
a restriction, enter 00:00 as start time and 24:00 as end
time.
»» Start Download Hours and End Download Hours: Users are only
allowed to download between these times. Enter 00:00 and
24:00 to allow users to download at any time of day.
»» Start Paging Hours and End Paging Hours: Users are only
allowed to yell for you between these times. Enter 00:00 and
24:00 to enable yelling at all times.
»» Minimum Baudrate to Logon: if a user tries to log into the
BBS at a slower baudrate than this setting he will be
refused.
»» Minimum Baudrate for Graphics: users with slower baudrates
than this setting will not be allowed to choose a graphics
mode other than ASCII.
»» Minimum Baudrate for Xfer: users with slower baudrates than
this setting will not be allowed to upload and/or download
files.
»» Max OARC Size (Kb) is the maximum size an Online Archive may
be. This is the size of the archive, not of the files
contained in the archive, in KiloBytes. Enter zero if you
want QuickBBS to use all available disk space minus a small
safety buffer.
»» TimeOut (seconds) defines how long the user may remain idle
(i.e. not type anything) before QuickBBS decides he's fallen
asleep and logs him off. This should be at least 30 seconds,
because QuickBBS sends a message warning the user 30 seconds
before this time limit expires.
»» Default Logon Time (minutes) defines how many minutes per day
a user may use the BBS. The file LIMITS.CTL overrides this
setting, but it can be used to set the number of minutes
available for new users before they have completed the
registration sequence.
»» Password Tries: if a user types his password wrong more times
than this value he will be disconnected.
»» Maximum Pages defines the maximum number of times a user may
yell for you per call.
»» Page Tune Length (seconds) is the length of the yell tune or
beep.
» The New user settings, screen lets you defime what level and
flags a new user gets.
»» New User Security: The security level which is given to new
users. Must be between 1 and 32000. See the section on Users
for more information.
»» New User Flags: Flags which are given to new users. See the
section on Users for more information.
»» New User Credit (cents) is used for FidoNet nodes, and
defines how much NetMail credit a new user gets. See the
section on FidoNet for more information.
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» In NetMail Information, Screen Settings you define your FidoNet
address, screen colours etc.
»» With Zone Number, Net Number and Node Number you tell
QuickBBS what your FidoNet address is. Refer to the section
on FidoNet for more information. Point Number is not yet
supported.
»» Fake Net Number, some older mailer software still uses a Fake
Net for it's points. QuickBBS can readress mail in the
netmail area so it doesn't show this Fake Net and uses a full
4D point address.
»» Allow Reply to Unlisted Nodes Will allow users to reply to
messages originating from a node which is not in our
NodeList.
»» Use netmail Credits allows you to charge a user for the use
of netmail. This will only work with the The Box and Version
6 Binkley ST nodelist. It doesn't work with the new BTNC
nodelist format.
»» Status Line Character Colour is the colour of the text in the
status bar at the bottom of the screen. For colour monitors I
recommend 3, for monochrome systems try 0.
»» Status Line Background Colour is the colour of the status bar
itself. If you use a colour monitor try 2, for a monochrome
monitor try 1.
»» Colour 0, 1, 2 and 3 are the RGB colours on a colour monitor
and allow you to reverse the 'colours' on a monochrome
monitor. Try 000, 700, 007 and 777.
»» Screen Saver Delay (seconds) is the length of the delay
before QuickStart's screen saver blanks the screen. As soon
as any activity is detected QuickStart will restore the
screen.
» In the Toggles screen you can switch all sorts of things on and
off...
»» ^E at Logon: Quite a few communications programs can
automatically send a name and a password when a ^E (Control-
E, ASCII 5) character is received. When this option is
switched on QuickBBS will send a ^E when it asks for the
users name.
»» Fast Logon Locally: if this option is switched on Quick won't
ask for a user name when you log in locally. Instead it will
just take the first user in the userbase, which should of
course be you.
»» Ask for Pwd Locally: when this is on you must enter a
password when you log in locally, even if Fast Logon is
switched on.
»» Use LastRead Pointers: currently unused. Always used
»» Exit for Net/Echo: QuickBBS exist with an errorlevel after
mail has been entered
»» Check for Mail: by switching on this toggle you activate the
MailScan when a user logs in. QuickBBS will look in the
message base to see whether there is any mail waiting for
this user. The MailScan can be aborted by pressing Space.
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»» Ask Voice Phone and Ask Data Phone will make Quick ask new
users for their voice and data phone numbers.
»» When Ask New Users Graphics is switched on new users will be
asked which Graphics Mode they would like to use. If this is
switched off they will get plain ASCII text.
»» By switching off Use Xmodem, Xmodem-1K, Ymodem, WXmodem, and
Zmodem you can disallow the use of any of the internal
protocols, both for Uploading and for Downloading.
»» Allow Batch Uploads can be used to disallow Uploading
multiple files at once with Ymodem and Zmodem.
»» With Touch Uploads you can choose whether you want to set the
date and time stamp of uploaded files to the current date and
time. Files uploaded with non-batch protocols always have the
current date and time.
»» Use Download Counters will let QuickBBS update the number of
times a file is download. It will put a [xx] at the beginning
of the file description in the FILES.BBS.
»» Enforce Language can be used to stop users writing messages
in your local language in international EchoMail areas (where
messages should be in English). See the section on Messages
for more info.
»» When Enforce Lower Case is switched on each message entered
is checked for lowercase characters. If the message is
entirely in uppercase the user will not be allowed to save
it.
»» By switching Allow Quoting on you allow users to use the
reply-quoting feature of the message editor.
»» Save Combined Boards is not implemented.
»» When Use Manual Answer is switched on QuickStart will wait
for the phone to ring and then send the Answer String. When
this option is switched off QuickStart will assume the modem
answers the phone by itself, and just waits for a Connect
string.
»» Use Yelltunes switches the yell tunes on and off. Depending
on a users name or security level you can get Quick to sound
a different tune when the user yells for you. When this is
switched off you will just hear a beep. See the section on
Chatting for more information.
»» Use External Xmodem: QuickBBS has two versions of Xmodem
available. One is built-in, the other is a separate driver,
XFER.000. When this option is switched off the internal
Xmodem is used. Try it out, and if you have problems use the
external one. NOTE: XFER.000 is still needed for Ymodem and
Windowed Xmodem transfers!
»» Allow VT-52 Monochrome: Switch this off if you don't want
your users in VT-52 Mono graphics mode.
»» Allow VT-52 Colour: Same as above, but for VT-52 Colour.
»» Allow VT-52 Standard: Same as above, now for the no-frills
Standard VT-52 mode.
»» Allow Ansi: Again, for Ansi graphics mode.
»» Use PC font for Ansi: by switching this on QuickBBS will use
a PC-style font when Ansi Graphics are active, so you can use
the nice box characters etc. This font doesn't show if you
have an old (pre-1.6) version of TurboST installed.
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»» Allow Optimiser: if you want to allow your users to use the
Menu Optimiser, switch this on. See the section on Menus for
more info.
»» Translate [x] to <x>: In some Scandinavian countries the
square brackets are used for their local character set. When
this option is switched on the system menus will use angled
brackets instead of square ones.
»» Fun mode in chat, if switched on your chats can become very
exiting. Just have a try.
»» Logoff after transfers, will ask a user before a download if
he wants to be logged off directly after the transfer.
»» Allow message uploads, a user can now upload a prepared
message text. So he hasn't type it all in online.
» With Terminal, Stand-Alone mode you can control some of the
features and defaults in QuickStart. These settings are
described in the QuickStart documentation.
» In the External Protocols screen you can program QuickBBS on how
to use the external protocols. For more info read the section on
external protocols.
»» Number on/off switches the protocol on or off. Be carefull
that if you use a protocol that already is used in QuickBBS
you disable this in the toggle screen.
»» Name, is the name of the protocol, this is used when asking
the user which protocol to use.
»» Key, is the key a user has to press to select this protocol.
»» Full Duplex, enable this for protocols that can up- and
download at the same time. Currently only Jekyll (great) can
do this. With Jekyll you can up- and download and chat at the
same time. This option makes sure that QuickBBS always scans
for uploaded files after a transfer.
»» Door file, every external protocol must have a .DOR file in
where path's and commandline etc. are programmed. See the
section about External protocols for this. For example you
can use something like JEKYLL, QuickBBS then uses JEKYLL.DOR
for Jekyll.
»» Logfile ID, is used to identify a protocol in the upload- or
download.log. It must be 2 characters. For example Z-Modem is
ZM, Jekyll JK etc. etc.
»» Batch files, enable this for protocols that can transfer more
then one file at a time, like Z-Modem/Y-Modem/Jekyll etc. Do
not enable this for X-Modem/X-Modem 1k.
»» F-Path, Full path, enable if a protocol always needs a full
path. Mostly you can specify a path and filename seperately,
so in most cases it's off.
» With Terminal, Stand-Alone mode you can control some of the
features and defaults in QuickStart. These settings are
described in the QuickStart documentation.
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» Accounting system, here you can define on how to use the
accounting system. See the accounting section for mroe info.
»» Download - per Kb, determines how many points are added or
subtracted for every download KiloByte. The number of points
can be negative or positive.
»» Download - per file, de termines how many points are added or
subtracted for every file download. Same as per Kb
»» Upload - per Kb, same as download except it's for uploads.
»» Upload - per file, same as download except it's for uploads.
»» Connect - per call, number of points given each time a user
calls.
»» Connect - per minute, number of points given for each minute
a user has been online.
»» Read - per message, number of points given for each message
a user has read.
»» Post - per message, number of points given for each message
a user has posted (entered).
»» Maximum points, is the maximum number of points a user can
get, the abslute maximum is +32767
»» Minimum points, is the lowest number of points a user can
get, the abslute minimum is -32767
»» New user points, is the number of points a new user gets.
FUNCTION KEYS
You can create a number of files in your CONF\ configuration
directory which assign strings to the function keys. QuickBBS will
load different function key files in different parts of the BBS.
There are files for chat mode, the message editor etc.
Each line in the function key files should start with a number
between 1 and 20, followed by a column (:) and the string you wish
to assign. A vertical bar (|) will be replaced by a Carriage
Return and a Line Feed. The files are...
» FUNCKEYS.BBS loaded when a user is on-line,
» LOCLKEYS.BBS loaded in local mode,
» CHATKEYS.BBS loaded in chat mode,
» EDITKEYS.BBS loaded in the message editor,
» DOSKEYS. BBS loaded when you jump to DOS,
» TERMKEYS.BBS loaded in terminal mode in QuickStart,
» WAITKEYS.BBS loaded in unattended mode in QuickStart.
The WaitKeys file doesn't assign a string to the function keys.
Instead it defines programs to start up when the key is pressed.
See the QuickStart documentation. A ChatKeys file might look
something like...
1:Just a sec...|
2:You called?|
When you press f1 the text "Just a sec..." is sent to the user,
followed by a Carriage Return and Line Feed (CRLF). Each string
may be up to 30 characters long. It may include tab characters.
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SYSOP KEYS
While a user is online QuickBBS allows you to modify some of his
parameters and do some other nice things by pressing one of the
Sysop Keys.
» Help shows you a brief list of the available SysOp keys
in the status bar. The user doesn't notice
anything.
» Clr/Home updates the status bar and/or restores it to normal
after pressing Help. The user doesn't notice
anything.
» Cursor Up increases the users time limit by 5 minutes. The
user doesn't notice anything except that he has 5
minutes more.
» Cursor Down decreases the users time limit by 5 minutes. The
user doesn't notice anything except that he has 5
minutes less.
» Alt-A changes the users graphics mode to ASCII.
» Alt-C enters chat mode. See below.
» Alt-D cycles Display Mode: switches the status bar off,
then the screen display if you press this key
again. Use Shift-Shift-Alt-D to switch status bar
and screen display back on.
» Alt-F allows you to edit the users flags. The user is
told to wait.
» Alt-H hangup: disconnects the user directly.
» Alt-I gives some extra info about the user like:
Phonenumbers, lat time he/she called, up/download
files, account etc.
told to wait.
» Alt-J jump to DOS: starts the program defined in QConfig.
The user is told to wait.
» Alt-L lockout: disconnects the user, asks for
confirmation and zeroes the users security level,
locking him out of the BBS.
» Alt-O allows you to edit the users account. The user is
told to wait.
» Alt-P switches printer logging on and off. If the printer
doesn't respond printer logging is switched off.
» Alt-S allows you to edit the users security level. The
user is told to wait.
» Undo clears the daily download counter and asks you for
a new download limit for this call only.
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CHATTING & YELL TUNES
A few extra keys can be used in chat mode:
» Control-C clear the screen
» Control-F switch Funmodem on or off
» Control-G sound a bell, beep or tune
» Control-L switch the chat log on and off
» Control-U switch the users CapsLock on and off
» Control-V view a file
» Escape exit chat mode
The chat log is called CHATLOG.TXT and can be found in the home
directory. It contains everything you type and everything the user
types.
Control-U comes in handy when users don't know what the CapsLock
key is for. If a user types everything in uppercase, press
Control-U. Quick will transform whatever the user types to
lowercase. The user will see this too, and hopefully switch his
CapsLock off. As soon as he types a lowercase character, or you
press Control-U again, the transformation is disabled.
Control-V will prompt you for a file to display (and send to the
user). This can be a text or graphics file, all control codes will
be translated. See the section on Text Files and Menus. This key
is identical to executing a menu option type 5.
Control-G sends a bell signal to the user. If the user is in Ansi
graphics mode he'll even hear a tune! When the user presses it
he's sure to get your attention.
Control-F will switch the Funmode on or off. If you use the
Funmode some very strange things can happen. QuickBBS will start
to behave very strange. Try it, it will surprise you...
If a user tried to page you and you didn't answer he is asked to
leave a message. You must enter the areanumber where this message
must end up in Qconfig.
Quick can sound a different tune depending on a users name or
security level. To use this feature you must create an ASCII file
called YELLTUNE.BBS in your CONF\ directory. Each line can either
start with the users name (with spaces replaced by underscores) or
a security level. This should be followed by a file path + name
which contains the XBios 32 (DoSound) instructions. Such a file
can be created by programs like Composer (downloadable from the
Support BBS) or Musix32. An example:
Robert_Redford \QBBS\TUNES\MICHELLE.MUS
200 \QBBS\TUNES\PRELUD.MUS
10 \QBBS\TUNES\STUPID.MUS
If a user with level 200 yells the file PRELUD.MUS is played. If
Robert Redford yells you'll hear the tune in MICHELLE.MUS.
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THE STATUS BAR
A status bar is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It contains
some information about the current user. The top line shows the
users name and city, in the bottom line you'll see his security
level, when he logged in, how much time he has left, how many
times he's called and what his graphics mode is (A for Ascii,
M for VT-52 Monochrome, C for VT-52 Colour, S for VT-52 Standard
and I for (IBM) Ansi).
In Local mode the amount of free RAM is displayed in the middle of
the bar. If a user yells for you it will be shown there instead.
If you press Alt-I you will get some more info about the current
user. Mayby you want to check his phonenumber !
The status bar and the local display can be switched on and off
with the Alt-D key. This is for use with multi-tasking packages
like the MTC-shell and MX2. Press Alt-D once to switch off the
status bar. Press Alt-D again to switch off the display. To switch
them both back on again you must press Shift-Shift-Alt-D. You can
also switch it off if you put -n on the commandline, the mouse
will be switched on too then.
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======================== Section 4 : Users =======================
==================================================================
USER INFORMATION
QuickBBS knows quite a lot about the user. The two most important
items of information are the his Security Level and his Flags. The
Security Level, sometimes called User Level or Privilege, is a
value between 0 and 32000. Depending on this level he may or may
not have access to certain options in the BBS. A user with
security level zero will not even be allowed into the BBS. Nice
way of locking out your mother-in-law!
The user has four sets of Flags. Each set contains 8 flags which
can be either on or off. The sets are 'numbered' A to D, the flags
are numbered 1 to 8, so one flag can be identified as, for
instance, A1 or C6. A flag which is on is marked with an X, a flag
which is off is marked with a minus (-). Both the security level
and the flags can be changed in the user editor.
Each option in a menu in the BBS has a security level and a set of
flags too. These items are compared to the users settings.
Depending on the result, the user may or may not have access to
that option. An example:
A menu option has the following settings:
Security Level : 50
A-Flags : --X---X-
B-Flags : -------X
C-Flags : --------
D-Flags : --------
A user logs in with the following settings:
Security Level : 100
A-Flags : XXX---XX
B-Flags : --------
C-Flags : --X-----
D-Flags : --------
QuickBBS will first look at the required Security Level (50) and
compare it to the users Security Level (100). The users level is
higher. If it was lower the user wouldn't have access to , or even
see (!) the menu option.
Based on the Security Levels the user has access, but Quick will
now compare the required Flags and the users Flags:
Required A-Flags : --X---X-
Users A-Flags : XXX---XX
Binary AND
Result : --X---X-
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If a required flag is on, then the users flag must also be on if
he is allowed to use the menu option. This operation can be
compared to a binary AND. Notice that the result is equal to the
required flags.
Based on the A-flags the user also has access, so we continue with
the B flags...
Required B-Flags : -------X
Users B-Flags : --------
Binary AND
Result : --------
The menu option requires flag B8 to be on, but the user doesn't
have flag B8! This means he does not have access to the menu
option, and it will be invisible to him. This might be a bit
difficult to grasp at first, and might require a little
experimenting. Notice the result isn't equal to the required
flags.
The menus aren't the only part of the BBS which have flags. Each
message board has security level and flag protection for read
access, write access and SysOp access. More on that later.
What else does QuickBBS know about the user? Well, let's see...
» Calls The number of times the user has called your BBS,
» City Where the user says he lives,
» Home Phone His voice phone number,
» Data Phone and data phone number,
» Last Date The last date the user logged in, MM/DD/YY
format,
» Last Time The last time the user logged in, HH:MM format,
» Used Today How long he has been online today,
» Credit His NetMail credit,
» Downloaded How many files & Kb he has downloaded,
» Uploaded How many files & Kb he has uploaded,
» DL Today How many Kb he has downloaded today,
» Posted How many messages he has written,
» Deleted Is this user to be deleted next time UserPack is
run?
» Clear Screen Does this user want his screen cleared between
menus?
» More Prompt Does he want the 'More [Y/n] ?' prompt to be
displayed at the bottom of every screen?
» Screen Length If so, how many lines can his screen display?
» Ignore DL Hrs May this user download outside the download
period as specified in QConfig?
» Graphics Mode What is the users graphics mode?
» Account What is his number of account points?
Quick also keeps track of which messages the user has read in the
message base, if the file LASTREAD.BBS exists. This file can be
created with UserEdit.
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PACKING THE USERBASE
When you delete a user in UserEdit he is not actually removed from
the userbase. He's just marked as deleted. You must run the PACK
option in the usereditor to really delete the user and update the
lastreadpointers. Here you can also delete users that haven't
logged in for a while. It asks after how many days a user must be
deleted.
THE LIMITS FILE
QConfig allows you to define a default time limit for each user.
But you might like some users more than others, and want to give
them more time in the BBS. I'd give Kelly LeBrock (remember The
Woman in Red?) all day if she wanted it 8-). It would make much
more sense to have a time limit which depends on the users
Security Level. Well, that's possible of course. With the
optional LIMITS.CTL file.
The Limits file is a plain ASCII one which should be placed in the
home directory. It contains one or more lines, each terminated
with a CRLF (Carriage Return and Line Feed, ASCII 13 and ASCII
10). Each line contains three numbers. The first number is the
security level. The second is the maximum time in the BBS, in
minutes, per day. The third value is the maximum amount users with
that Security Level may download, in Kb, per day. The file must be
sorted on Security Level.
Quick will search through the file looking for the users Security
Level. If it doesn't find the exact level it will use the closest
lower level.
An example: Kelly LeBrock has level 200. Our LIMITS.CTL file looks
like this:
1 10 20
10 20 50
50 30 100
100 45 200
500 60 250
Level 200 isn't in the Limits file, so Quick will use the values
defined for Security Level 100 instead: 45 minutes per day in the
BBS and 200 Kb of download per day.
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THE TRASHCAN FILE
The TrashCan file is also located in the home directory. Another
optional ASCII file. Each line in TRASHCAN.CTL can contain a whole
name or part of a name which is not allowed to be used on the BBS.
You might want to put some dirty words in there too (an old
favourite of VIC-20 users).
An example: a new user called Douglas Duck logs in. Your TrashCan
file contains...
HITLER
REAGAN
DONALD DUCK
MICKEY MOUSE
Douglas Duck would be allowed onto the BBS, because no line
contains only the words 'Douglas Duck', 'Douglas' or 'Duck'.
However, if a new user called Robin Reagan logged in he would not
be allowed on, because one of the lines is the word 'Reagan'.
THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
This is a very powerfull part of QuickBBS. You can reward or
punish a user depending on his actions. Have a look at the
accounting section in Qconfig. You can determine there what the
'reward' will be for several actions.
The account can run from -32767 to +32767. But you can set a lower
max. or higher min. too.
QuickBBS only registers the account, it doesn't do anything with
it itself. That is up to you. To give you an idea you could use a
.DOR file in the download section of the BBS that is run after a
file is downloaded. You can use the account as *O in the .DOR
file, with the IF ... THEN .. statements you could change the
users level and/or downloadlimit depending on his account.
So let them gray cells work, this is really very nice if you make
good use of it.
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================== Section 5 : Text & Graphics ===================
==================================================================
TEXT FILES & GRAPHICS MODES
Your Text File Directory contains a whole lot of text files. You
can edit any of these files to customise your BBS, add new ones
etc.
QuickBBS supports five Graphics Modes. By selecting a graphics
mode the user can get QuickBBS to make better use of his terminal,
by using Escape Sequences to control things like colours, cursor
position etc.
The text files come in five flavours, one for each Graphics Mode.
QuickBBS selects the file to display by looking at the file
extension. The text files which contain escape codes are sometimes
called Graphics Files.
The simplest Graphics Mode is plain ASCII. No escape codes are
sent in this mode. The text files for this mode end in .ASC.
Then we have three VT-52 modes. VT-52 Monochrome and VT-52 Colour
are for use on Atari ST's only. They use some escape codes which
are Atari-private and might do strange things on other machines.
The Monochrome flavour has extension .VTM and should not contain
any colour escapes. The Colour flavour is called .VTC. If a user
is running software on a different computer with VT-52 emulation
he can select VT-52 Standard. In this mode the BBS will not send
any of the Atari-private escapes. The file extension here is .VTS.
The most fancy mode is Ansi. This isn't real Ansi, but the IBM
version, as implemented in many comms packages on the PC. It is
often called Ansi-BBS. When operating in this mode QuickBBS can
use a PC-style font so that you can see the IBM character set with
box graphics etc. The extension is .ANS. Though the most used
escapes can be interpreted by QuickBBS, the implementation of Ansi
is not complete. If QuickBBS sees an escape it doesn't know it
will ignore that escape. The escape will be sent to the user.
Please refer to the appendix section for VT-52 and Ansi escape
sequences. And remember: you can do a hell of a lot with these
escapes, but your users don't call your BBS to look at the pretty
pictures. I've seen a number of boards using Ansi to implement
DropDown menus. Looks great, but is very very slow.
The different text/graphics files can contain non-standard
escapes, if you want. In Ansi mode Quick will only use Ansi
escapes in the system menus, but you are free to put anything you
like in the graphics files (not that it would make much sense).
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SYSTEM TEXT FILES
There are a number of system text files which you can edit and/or
create. Some of the files can only have an .ASC version because
they are displayed before the users Graphics Mode is known.
» BANNER displayed by QuickStart while the BBS is being
loaded. ASCII only, and may not contain any control
codes.
» BROWSER displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
File Browser.
» DNLDHRS displayed if the user attempts to download outside
download hours.
» EDITHELP displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Message Editor.
» FILEMENU displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
File Menu.
» GOODBYE displayed just before QuickBBS disconnects.
» GRAPHELP displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Graphics Mode menu. To be on the safe side use .ASC
only.
» HOTNEWS displayed after login, and only if the file date is
newer then the last time the user called.
» LANGUAGE displayed when the user tries to save a message
which doesn't pass the language test.
» LOGO the very first file QuickBBS displays (after the
banner file, displayed by QuickStart). Because the
graphics mode is not yet determined, the file has
ASCII only flavour.
» MAXPAGE displayed if the user attempts to page you more
times than allowed, as specified in QConfig.
» NEWS displayed just before the system checks for new
mail.
» NEWUSER1 displayed to a new user after he has verified his
name, but before any questions are asked. ASCII
only.
» NEWUSER2 displayed after the new user has selected a
password.
» NEWUSER3 displayed when the new user has filled in all the
questions.
» NO300 displayed when a call comes in at 300 Bps outside
the 300 Bps hours.
» NODELIST displayed when a user selects [H]elp from the
NodeList menu.
» NOTAVAIL displayed when a user pages you outside the paging
hours defined in QConfig.
» NOTFOUND displayed if the system can't find the user in the
User Base, but before he is asked whether his name
is correct. You should explain the FidoNet naming
convention (Alexis Carrington.Colby.Dexter) etc.
» OARCHELP displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Online Archiver main menu.
» OARCTYPE displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Online Archiver type selection menu (when he
chooses between .ARC and .LZH archives).
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» OPTIMISE displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Menu Optimiser menu.
» PAGEABRT displayed if the SysOp aborts a page.
» PAGED displayed when you don't respond to a page. It
should inform the user that the SysOp has been
paged.
» PASSWORD displayed before a new user is asked for a
password, and when the user changes his password.
» POSTCHAT displayed after a chat
» PRECHAT displayed before a chat
» PRE-UPLD displayed before uploading
» READHELP displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Read Messages menu.
» SCANHELP displayed when the user selects [H]elp from the
Scan Messages menu.
» SECxxx displayed after login if user with level xxx calls.
» TOOSLOW displayed if a user calls with a baudrate lower
than the "Minimum Baudrate to Logon" as defined in
QConfig.
» TRASHCAN displayed if the name typed in by the new user
conflicts with the TRASHCAN.CTL file. ASCII only.
» UP-DESC displayed after upload but before asking the user
for the description of the uploaded file(s)
» UPPER displayed when a user tries to save a message which
doesn't pass the UpperCase check.
» USERxxx displayed after login to the user with record
number xxx. Example: USER006.ASC is shown to user
number 6.
» WELCOME displayed after the user has entered his name and
password. This is where you might like to get
elaborate. It's ASCII only.
» XFERHELP displayed when a user selects [H]elp from the File
Transfer Protocol menu. It should explain what each
protocol does, and which is best.
Your menus can contain commands to display text files. Unless
otherwise stated these files should be located in the Textfile
Directory. Do not include an extension in the name of the file to
display, Quick will add it depending on the current Graphics Mode.
If there is no graphics file for the current Graphics Mode,
QuickBBS will downgrade, e.g. if there is no WELCOME.ANS the file
WELCOME.ASC is used. When looking for a file Quick will follow
this chart...
Graphics Mode Search order
ASCII *.ASC
ANSI *.ANS *.ASC
VT-52 Standard *.VTS *.ASC
VT-52 Mono *.VTM *.VTS *.ASC
VT-52 Colour *.VTC *.VTM *.VTS *.ASC
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TEXT FILE CONTROL CODES
Each text file other than BANNER.ASC can contain control codes.
These codes are replaced when QuickBBS displays the file, or
cause QuickBBS to take a certain action. Most editors can insert
such codes into a text file. First Word Plus can't, in fact it
will often refuse to load a file with such control codes. Try
Tempus, Micro Emacs or the capture buffer in Flash.
In this (and most other) documentation a control code is shown as
a ^ sign followed by a character. For example, ^A (Control-A) has
ASCII code 1, ^B is code 2 etc.
In Tempus you can use the character table to enter the codes, or
keep the Alternate key pressed while you type the ASCII value on
the numeric keypad, e.g. to type control-C you would hold down
Alternate, press 3 and release Alternate. In most Micro Emacs
versions you can press control-Q followed by the character you
want, e.g. control-Q followed by control-C.
The control codes known to QuickBBS can be split up into three
groups: System Control, User Information and System Information.
The User Info and System Info are two-character codes. They start
with either a ^F or ^K, followed by another character. This second
character is not a control code!
The codes are...
System Control
Code ASCII Function
^A 001 Pause and wait for the user to press Return.
^B 002 Turn [S]top aborting off. The user can
normally abort any textfile with the S key,
and pause with the P key.
^C 003 Turn [S]top aborting on.
^D 004 Turn the More [Y/n] prompts off.
^E 005 Turn the More [Y/n] prompts on.
^F 006 User Information code.
^G 007 Sound bell/beep.
^H 008 BackSpace.
^I 009 Tab.
^J 010 LineFeed.
^K 011 System Information code.
^L 012 FormFeed (clear screen).
^M 013 Carriage Return
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User Information
Code ASCII Function
^FA 006 065 Users full name.
^FB 006 066 City.
^FC 006 067 Password (use with care!).
^FD 006 068 Data phone.
^FE 006 069 Voice phone.
^FF 006 070 Last date user called.
^FG 006 071 Last time user called.
^FH 006 072 Users A-Flags.
^FI 006 073 Users B-Flags.
^FJ 006 074 Users C-Flags.
^FK 006 075 Users D-Flags.
^FL 006 076 NetMail Credit in cents.
^FM 006 077 Number of messages the user has posted.
^FO 006 079 Users Security Level.
^FP 006 080 Number of times the user has called.
^FQ 006 081 Number of files the user has uploaded.
^FR 006 082 Number of KiloBytes the user has uploaded.
^FS 006 083 Number of files the user has downloaded.
^FT 006 084 Number of KiloBytes the user has downloaded.
^FU 006 085 Number of minutes user has been online today.
^FV 006 086 Length of the users screen.
^FW 006 087 Users first name.
^FX 006 088 Users Graphics Mode.
^FY 006 089 More prompt : ON or OFF.
^FZ 006 090 Screen Clear : ON or OFF.
^F0 006 048 Optimiser : ON or OFF.
^F1 006 049 KiloBytes the user has downloaded today.
^F2n 006 050 Flag An : ON or OFF.
^F3n 006 051 Flag Bn : ON or OFF.
^F4n 006 052 Flag Cn : ON or OFF.
^F5n 006 053 Flag Dn : ON or OFF.
^F6 006 054 Current Account
^F7 006 055 Full Screen Editor : ON or OFF.
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System Information
Code ASCII Function
^KA 011 065 Number of calls to the BBS.
^KB 011 066 Name of the last caller.
^KF 011 070 Number of times you've been paged.
^KG 011 071 Day of the week (i.e. Monday, Tuesday etc.).
^KH 011 072 Number of users in the User Base.
^KI 011 073 Current time in 24 hour format (HH:MM)
^KJ 011 074 Current date, format DD MMM YY (04 Nov 89).
^KK 011 075 Time connected - minutes.
^KL 011 076 Time connected - seconds.
^KM 011 077 Time used - minutes.
^KN 011 078 Time used - seconds.
^KO 011 079 Time remaining - minutes.
^KP 011 080 Time remaining - seconds.
^KQ 011 081 Time limit in minutes.
^KR 011 082 Baud rate.
^KS 011 083 Abbreviated day of week (i.e. Mon, Tue etc.).
^KT 011 084 Download limit in Kb.
^KWx 011 087 Amount of free space on drive 'x'.
^KX 011 088 Amount of free RAM.
You'd like an example? Okay. The file PAGED.ASC contains the
following text and control codes...
Hello ^FW, the SysOp doesn't seem to be around at the
moment. You have ^KO minutes and ^KP seconds left for today,
so why don't you write him a message?
Press [Return] to continue...^A
When this file is displayed it might look something like this...
Hello Dave, the SysOp doesn't seem to be around at the
moment. You have 24 minutes and 18 seconds left for today,
so why don't you write him a message?
Press [Return] to continue...
at which point Quick would wait for Dave to press the Return.
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======================= Section 6 : Menus ========================
==================================================================
THE MENU SYSTEM
Each menu on a board running QuickBBS is 100% SysOp-configurable.
Not only the menu text and menu keys, but also the menu structure.
Each menu has a menu file which can be created with the menu
editor (MENUEDIT.PRG). This program was written by Theo Runia. The
menu files are located in the Menu File Directory and have
extension .MNU.
When a user calls, the first menu he will get is TOP.MNU. This
menu must always be present. From this point onward you are
completely free to choose your own menu names.
A menu contains one or more menu options. Each option consists
of...
» Text Line what the user sees on the screen.
» Data Line depends on the Option Type.
» Option Type what the option does.
» Option Key key which activates the option.
» Required Security Security Level needed.
» Required Flags Flags needed.
» ForeGround Colour foreground colour in VTC/ANS mode.
» BackGround Colour background colour in VTC/ANS mode.
The Text Line will only be displayed if the user has access to
the option. This depends on the Required Security and Required
Flags, and the users Security Level and Flags.
There are three special characters which can be used in a text
line. They are:
^ Toggles highlight on/off in VT-52 Mono/Colour and Ansi modes,
~ Is replaced by the number of minutes left,
; If the text line ends with a semi-column no CRLF is added, so
you can put two or more options next to each other.
The Option Key is the key the user must press to activate the
option. Of course this is a HotKey.
The Foreground and Background Colour items are not implemented in
the current version of QuickBBS.
The Option Type is the most important of the whole lot. It defines
what the option actually does. There are option types to read
mail, to view files, to yell for the SysOp etc. etc.
The Data Line can contain parameters depending on which Option
Type you have chosen. Some people call it the Command Line for
some reason or other.
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MENU TEXT
What the user sees when your menu is displayed is the Text Line of
each menu option he has access to. The Text Line should indicate
what key the user must press to activate the option. You can use
the ^ character to highlight parts of your Text Line. If you
define the line as
^[F]^ File Menu
then the [F] will either be reversed (in VT-52 Mono mode) or have
a different colour (in Ansi and VT-52 Colour mode). In ASCII and
VT-52 Standard modes QuickBBS can't change any colours or
attributes. The square brackets make sure that the key is clear in
those modes too.
MENU STRUCTURE
Anybody who has ever programmed in BASIC will know the commands
GoTo, GoSub and Return to branch to a certain section of the code.
You use a similar method to describe the structure of your menus.
Option Type 1 is the GoTo option. It makes QuickBBS forget the
current menu and load a new one. Option type 2 is the GoSub
option. It also loads a new menu, but remembers from which menu it
was loaded from. With option type 3 you can Return to that menu.
This may sound rather complicated but in fact it is very easy.
Think of the menu structure as a hierarchy. The highest level is
the TOP menu, each branch is a sub-menu, called with option type
2. To go back to the TOP menu you use option type 3. A sub-menu
can also have branches, up to 20 levels deep.
Time for an example. We want to create a menu structure which
looks something like this...
+-------+
| TOP |
+-------+
/ \
/ \
/ \
+----------+ +----------+
| FILE | | MAIL |
+----------+ +----------+
| | | |
+----+ +----+ +----+ +----+
| F1 | | F2 | | M1 | | M2 |
+----+ +----+ +----+ +----+
...where TOP is the main menu, FILE is a menu where you select a
file area menu (F1 or F2) and MAIL lets you select a mail area
menu (M1 or M2).
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We'd have seven menu files: TOP.MNU, FILE.MNU, MAIL.MNU,
F1.MNU, F2.MNU, M1.MNU and M2.MNU. It's a quite easy to do it with
less, but I'll save that for later.
TOP would contain two GoSub menu options. One to load FILE and one
to load MAIL. I assume you want to be able to get back to the top
menu from within one of the sub-menus, so FILE and MAIL will both
contain a Return option. They would also allow a selection between
either F1 and F2 or M1 and M2, with GoSub options.
The lowest level menus could contain an option to either go back
to the selection menu (with Return), or straight back to TOP. To
accomodate for this sort of construction Quick knows a fourth menu
structure option, called Clear Stack and GoTo New Menu (got it?).
What it does is this: first it forgets how it got to the current
menu (it clears the menu stack). Then it just loads the new menu
like the GoTo option does. You'd use this option to go straight to
TOP.
All these options - exept for Return - expect the name of the menu
to be on the data line. If a menu isn't found Quick will warn the
user (and the SysOp, in the logfile) and return to the TOP menu.
THE MENU EDITOR
is called MENUEDIT.PRG. When executed it will display a list of
existing menus. With the function keys you can copy, delete and
rename existing menus. To create a new menu or edit an existing
one just type in the name.
You will then see the main menu of MenuEdit. From here you can Add
new options to the 'end' of the menu, Insert a new option between
two existing options, Change (edit) or Delete options.
With Simulate you can see what your menu looks like when it is
displayed to the user. You'll have to enter a Security Level to
determine which menu options are used, but all flags are assumed
on. The List command shows a list of all the options in your menu.
When you Add, Insert or Change an option the edit screen is
displayed. All the fields of the menu can be changed here.
The menu Prompt is really just another menu option right down at
the bottom of the screen (the very last option). The difference is
that it is only a Text Line and doesn't actually do anything. The
HighLight colours aren't implemented in the current version.
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MENU OPTION TYPES
There are about 40 different option types in the current version
of QuickBBS. They are...
Type Description
0 Text Line, not considered a command. Use this to add extra
lines of text to your menu, such as titles and empty lines.
1 GoTo New Menu. The menu name and any menu parameters should
be placed on the Data Line.
2 GoSub New Menu. The Data Line should contain the menu name
and any menu parameters.
3 Return from Previous Gosub returns to the menu which loaded
the current menu.
4 Clear Stack & GoTo New Menu. Data Line: menu name and menu
parameters.
5 Display Text File. The Data Line contains the name of the
file, without extension and without path. The file should
be located in the Text File Directory.
7 Execute Program. Starts up an external program, see the
section on Doors.
8 Version Information. Displays the version of QuickBBS, the
copyright information etc. No Data Line.
9 Log off. Terminates the connection. No Data Line.
10 Display System Usage Graph. This displays a graph of the
usage of your BBS per hour. No Data Line.
11 Yell for SysOp will either execute the external chat
program or page you using the internal chat routines.
13 List/Search User Base. This allows the user to enter part
of a name to search the User Base with, or just press
Return to view the whole User Base. The name, city and
date-of-last-call of each user are displayed. No Data Line.
14 Display Time/Download Statistics shows the user some
information about how long he has been in the BBS, how much
time he has left, how much he can download etc.
15 Exit with ErrorLevel terminates QuickBBS with an errorlevel
specified in the Data Line. The connection is not
terminated. See the section on Doors.
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16 Change City allows the user to modify the 'City' field he
filled in as a new user. No Data Line.
17 Change Password will display the text file PASSWORD in the
Text File Directory and will then ask the user for a new
password. No Data Line.
18 Change Screen Length allows the user to change his screen
length (used for the More [Y/n] prompt). No Data Line.
19 Toggle Clear Screen will switch the screen-clear codes sent
between menus on and off. No Data Line.
20 Toggle More [Y/n] Prompt switches the prompt on and off
which is displayed at the end of each page when reading
text files, messages etc. No Data Line.
21 Change Graphics Mode allows the user to select a different
Graphics Mode. No Data Line.
22 Check for Personal Mail will scan the message base for mail
to this user which he has not yet read. You can specify the
area number to scan on the Data Line. If the Data Line is
empty all areas to which the user has access are scanned.
You can also specify ALL, in this cases message To: ALL are
scanned.
23 Read Messages allows the user to read messages in the area
number supplied on the Data Line, as long has he has read-
access to that area. See the section on Messages.
24 Scan Messages displays the headers of the messages in the
area number supplied on the Data Line if the user has read-
access. The user is asked if he wants to Mark a message,
this can be read with Read Messages (Marked) later. Refer
to the section on Messages.
25 QuickScan Messages displays a list of the messages in the
area number supplied on the Data Line if the user has read-
access. Refer to the section on Messages.
27 Write a New Message is used to write messages in the area
supplied on the Data Line. The Data Line can also contain
the /T and /L modifiers. /T=First_Last forces the message
to a certain name, the /L modifier logs the user off after
the message has been completed.
30 Raw Directory displays a list of files in the directory
specified in the Data Line. The file names, sizes, times
and dates are displayed. The files don't need to be in
FILES.BBS (see the section about File Areas).
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31 Display File List shows the user the formatted FILES.BBS
file, with file names, sizes, dates and descriptions. Refer
to the section about File Areas. The Data Line should
contain the directory of the file area.
32 Download a File allows the user to download one or more
files from the directory specified in the Data Line. See
the section on File Areas. The Data Line can also contain
the name of the file to download.
33 Upload a File lets the user upload one or more files to the
directory specified in the Data Line. See the section on
File Areas for more information.
34 Show Contents of Archive prompts the user for the name of
an .ARC, .LZH, .ZIP, .ZOO or .ZIP archive or .GIF picture
file in the directory specified in the Data Line, then
displays the contents of that archive or picture. With a
.GIF file (picture) it can also test the integrity of the
.GIF fil.
35 Search for a File by Keyword searches all areas specified
in FLSEARCH.CTL for a word supplied by the user. See the
section on File Areas.
37 List New Files displays a list of new files since the user
last called. The Data Line can contain the directory to
search. If the Data Line is empty all areas specified in
FLSEARCH.CTL are used. The user is prompted for a date to
start the scan from, defaults to the last time the user
called.
38 View Text File asks the user for the name of a text file in
the directory specified in the Data Line, then displays the
file.
39 Display Text File lets the user read a text file which you
specify in the Data Line. With this option you must specify
the full path, name and extension of the file to display.
40 Replace Menu Text is used with Automatic Menu Execution and
allows you to replace the menu Text Line with the contents
of a graphics file. Automatic Execution is explained below.
The Data Line is the same as in type 5.
41 Toggle Full Screen Editor switches the Full Screen Editor
on and off. No Data Line. The user can't switch on the FSE
in ASCII mode.
45 Display Text File with Return is the same as option type 5,
but displays the 'Press Return' prompt when done and waits
for the user to press Return.
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57 Change Voice Phone of the current user, if nothing is
entered then it won't be changed. The phonenumber is only
changed in USERS.BBS and not in NEWUSER.LOG.
58 Change Data Phone is the same as 57, except that it changes
the Data phone number.
80 Online Archiver is used to extract parts of archives to
download. See the section on Online Archives for more
information. The Data Line specifies the directory which
contains the archive to extract from.
81 Pump File will send a file to the user without interpreting
any control codes. This can be used for things like VidTex
graphics. The Data Line should contain the full path, name
and extension of the file to display, preceded by a + or a
- modifier. If the modifier is a - the file is not
displayed locally.
82 Select Menu Optimiser will display the Menu Optimiser
selection menu, which is explained below. No Data Line.
83 File Browser starts the File Browser, explained later. The
Data Line contains the full path, name and extension of the
file to view.
84 File Mark Menu is a sort of browser for your download. The
optional data line takes a path to the download area. A
User can step trough a files.bbs listing here, jump pages
ahead etc. He can also mark file for download. In the
current version of QuickBBS it only remembers the marked
files for the current area. Mor info can be found in the
Section about File Areas.
85 Mail Area Lister generates a list of mailareas for the user
to choose from. This is not for the Novice sysop though.
The optional Data line takes as first parameter the Group
number of the areas to list, this number is enter in
Mconfig. The second option is optional, if used you must
put there the name of the menu that it has to Jump to after
the user has made a selection. If you omit this the user
will be returned to the current menu. The Mail Area Lister
will put on the optional data line of the menu:
Areanumber Areaname
You can use &1 in the menu for the areanumber and &2 for
the name of the area.
For more info read the Section about Mail Areas.
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86 File Area Lister does the same job as option 85 but in this
case it's for the file areas. It works the same only in the
the first option on the optional data line is a
string that must be available in the description of an
area in FLSEARCH.CTL. This string is then deleted.So for
example put (ATARI) after the atari areas, use as string
(ATARI). Then all areas with this string are displayed
minus this string.
This option also returns 2 items on the optional data line
of the menu it will return to:
Path Description (from FLSEARCH.CTL)
So you can use &1 as path info and &2 as areaname in your
menu.
For more info read the Section about File Areas.
Quite a lot of different commands aren't there? A shorter list of
these commands can be found in the appendix section.
The menu files (.MNU) are compatible to the ones used by the PC
version of QuickBBS. That version supports all types up to and
including type 57, though there are some minor differences in the
Data Lines. The option types supported by QuickBBS ST only are
numbered 80 upwards, to avoid problems.
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MENU PARAMETERS
If you have a lot of different file or mail areas you would
normally need one menu for each area. With the PC version of
QuickBBS some SysOps have over 500 different menu files! I think
that is absolutely ridiculous, so QuickBBS ST can pass parameters
from one menu to another.
When you call a menu using GoTo (type 1), GoSub (type 2) or Clear
Stack and Goto (type 4) you can pass up to 10 parameters to the
menu you are calling. These parameters are placed in the Data
Line, after the name of the new menu. They must be separated by
spaces.
These parameters can be used in the new menu by placing a &
character in the text or data line, followed by a number. That
number selects the parameter to insert into the text or data line.
An example: you call a menu called UPDOWN with a GoSub command.
The data line used to call it is...
UPDOWN Communications_programs \QBBS\DOWNLOAD\COMMS\
the new menu is loaded and displayed. The first option in UPDOWN
is a Text Line (type 0). It displays the name of the file area
which this menu is used for. So the Text Line of the first option
would be something like...
Current Area : &1.
...Quick would translate that to...
Current Area : Communications programs.
( Note that Quick replaces the underscores with a space in the
Text Line only )
Then you could have an option to - say - download a file. That
might have a Data Line which contains only &2. Quick would replace
that '&2' with the second parameter passed to UPDOWN, the
directory \QBBS\DOWNLOAD\COMMS\. The file would be downloaded from
that directory.
On most boards each file or mail area menu looks exactly the same,
except the name of the area and the directory of that area are
different. With QuickBBS ST you can create one uniform menu and
call it with different parameters, saving you lots and lots of
work!
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AUTOMATIC MENU EXECUTION
NOTE: This topic isn't suitable for novice SysOps. If you've only
just started using QuickBBS, skip this part.
Automatic Menu Execution, sometimes called AutoExec for short,
makes Quick execute the option while the menu file is being
loaded. You can define an AutoExec option by giving it a ^A key.
This is a little difficult in the current version of the menu
editor, but nevertheless possible. Move the highlight to the key
field and press Control-A. Then type 1 and press Return. You
should see an arrow pointing upwards. This is a raw ^A character.
AutoExec options are quite powerful. One option type is specially
made for AutoExec-ing. It's type 40, and can be used to replace
the Text Line of the AutoExec option with the contents of a file
in the Text File Directory. That file can contain all the usual
control and escape codes, except for the Press Return and Enter
Line codes. This way you can create customised VT-52 and Ansi
menus! Type 40 can only be used as an AutoExec option. It will be
ignored if it isn't automatically executed.
Using AutoExec you can get Quick to execute any option type
automatically. The only 'but' is this: when the option has been
executed the rest of the menu is handled, except when the AutoExec
option loaded a new menu. In that case the menu is re-loaded after
a Return, and the AutoExec option is executed again.
One way to get round this problem is to work with flags. By giving
the AutoExec option a 'required flag', and clearing that flag in
the sub-menu (using a .DOR file). Then the AutoExec option isn't
executed on return, because the required flag isn't set.
THE MENU OPTIMISER
For non-ASCII users Quick provides a Menu Optimiser. It replaces
multiple spaces, carriage returns and line feeds by VT-52 or Ansi
escape codes to position the cursor, but only if the escape code
is shorter than the original. At 300 and 1200 baud this makes
quite a lot of difference! The Menu Optimiser can switched on and
off with option type 82.
In some cases it is undesirable to have the Menu Optimiser
switched on. For instance, if you want to send coloured spaces
(spaces with a background colour greater than 0), the optimiser
might jump over some 'coloured' background with an escape code.
There is a special control code which you can put in your AutoExec
graphic files. It's ^O, and it temporarily toggles the optimiser
on and off.
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======================== Section 7 : Messages ====================
==================================================================
THE MESSAGE SYSTEM
QuickBBS can handle up to 200 different Message Areas (sometimes
called Boards). Each area has a number ranging from 1 to 200. All
messages in one area are stored in two files, located in your
Message File Directory.
These files are called nnnn.HDR and nnnn.MSG, where 'nnnn' is the
number of the area (decimal). The .HDR files contain the message
headers (from, to, subject etc). The actual message text is stored
in the .MSG files.
You can assign the area numbers with the program MConfig. The
message base configuration is read from BOARDS.BBS which should be
in your CONF\ directory.
Each area has an area name, which is displayed to the user. If
this area name is blank the message area doesn't exist as far as
Quick is concerned. The areas must also have a specific area type.
This can be one of the following types...
» Local messages are not sent to any other nodes in
FidoNet.
» EchoMail messages are sent to all FidoNet nodes connected to
this EchoMail area.
» NetMail messages are sent to the FidoNet node the user
specified.
If you are running a Stand-Alone BBS all areas should be Local
areas. Refer to the section on FidoNet for information about
EchoMail and NetMail.
You can specify what kind of messages you want to allow in this
area...
» Public means the messages written in this area may only be
public (i.e. anyone who has access to the area can
read them).
» Private means the messages in this area must be private,
only the SysOp, the writer and the receiver can
read them (if they have access to the area).
» Both means the messages can be either public or private.
The user is asked which kind of message he wants to
write.
If you have specified the area as EchoMail you will have to enter
an Origin Line. Refer to the FidoNet section.
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MESSAGE AREA ACCESS
Each message area has three sets of Security Levels and Flags. The
user can access the area in three different ways, if he has the
required Security Level and Flags...
» Read Access allows him to read messages in this area,
» Write Access allows him to reply to messages in this area, and
to post new messages,
» SysOp Access allows him to read all private mail and delete any
messages.
If the user tries to read messages in an area he doesn't have read
access to Quick will tell him so and return to the menu. Same with
Write. If the user has Sysop Access the Read Messages menu will
just contain some extra options (to delete the message, send it to
the printer, forward it etc).
THE LANGUAGE CHECK FILE
A lot of EchoMail areas are international. In such areas all
messages should be written in English. There are thousands of dim-
witted users out there who either don't care or don't know, and
write their messages in German, French, Dutch or whatever other
language they fancy.
QuickBBS can put an end to all that with the Language Check. If
you switch this on in MConfig all messages the users write in that
area are checked before they are saved. To enable this checking
you must also switch it on in QConfig.
Of course you have to tell Quick how to check the message. That
can be done with the LANGUAGE.BBS file, a plain ASCII one located
in the CONF\ directory. It contains one word per line. These words
may not appear in the message. Each language has some words that
can't be used in English, but are often used in messages. That's
the kind of words you want. You might like to put some dirty ones
in there too...
If the message contains illegal words the file LANGUAGE in the
text file directory is displayed. The user is then returned to the
message editor to correct his mistake.
THE UPPERCASE CHECK
Another old favourite of dumb users is an UPPERCASE message. Some
people just don't know what that the CapsLock key is for. You can
get Quick to check for this too by switching on the UpperCase
Check options in MConfig and QConfig.
When the user tries to save a message Quick will test each line
for lowercase characters. If a lowercase character is found in any
line, the message is saved. If no lowercase characters are found
the file UPPER is displayed and the is user returned to the
message editor.
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ALLOW THE USE OF AN ALIAS
On most Bulletin Boards you must use your real name. The same
applies to most mailnetworks. But sometimes your are allowed to
use an alias (Fakename etc.). For example in Role Playing
Adventures every everone as there own fanatsie name.
So this options allows the user to use a different name for this
area only. The Alias is only remembered for the current session.
ALLOW 8 BIT CHARACTERS
In most networks you are only allow to use ASCII characters,
mainly because the characters above 127 are not standarized. But
in some country's you need those (mostly scandinavian). So you can
allow the use for 8 bit characters per area. Do make sure you ask
if this is allowed!
FILE ATTACHED MESSAGES
With this flag you can let user attach a file to a message. The
user will be asked if he wants to attach a file to the message.
The file can then be downloaded by the one the message is
addressed to. The file can only be download by the user in the To:
field, the only exception is if the message is addressed to ALL,
in that case everyone can download the file.
The message wil first be shown, after that the user is asked if he
wants to download a file. Mind you can recieve file attach message
from all areas, you must only allow it for them to be posted.
The file is put into \QBBS\PVT_FILE\ and the filename/path is
stored in the subject field, which can't be edited anymore for
safety reasons. The With file flag is also set. This system is
compatible with Fidonet, so you can also send file attached
message from say LED.
On thing though, you can also make the netmail area file attach
but take in account that you generally are not allowed to route
file attached message over/via other systems, you should bring
them by crashmail.
GROUP NUMBER
This is a number from 0 to 255 where 0 disables the group number.
Currently this is only used in menu option 85 (Mail Area Lister).
You can divided your message areas into groups, for example:
Group nr 1: Local areas
Group nr 2: National echomail areas
Group nr 3: International echomail areas
Group nr 4: Atari areas
etc. etc.
With Menu type 85 you can use this group to make several lists of
areas. This will make life very easy for the sysop. He now only
needs to add a new area in mconfig and pronto it appears in the
area list in the BBS...
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LASTREAD POINTERS
QuickBBS keeps track of which messages the user has read in every
area. These pointers are stored in the file LASTREAD.BBS in the
home directory. They are used in two ways:
» In the MailScan the message areas are scanned starting with the
first unread message.
» When a user selects the [N]ew option from the read messages menu
the first unread message is displayed.
PACKING THE MESSAGE BASE
Once you are running your BBS the message base will get larger and
larger unless you do something about it. This is where the
FastPack program comes in. It packs your message base, which
means...
» Deleted messages are always removed.
» You can define how old a message may be before it is removed.
» You can define a minimum number of messages which must always
remain in a certain area.
It's a good idea to pack your message base once a day if you have
a busy system. The FastPack program has its own documentation
files.
There are other programs that can pack and update the lastread
pointers too, some names:
Bermuda
Jetmail
IOS
etc.
Mind you be carefull with those, always check if they update the
pointers the right way. If you have problems with wrong pointers
then let the programmer of the packer contact us, so we can tell
him the exact format of the pointers and how to work with them.
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THE MAIL AREA LISTER
This is menutype 85. With this option you can generate a list of
Mail Areas for the user to choose from. You can choose what areas
to list by using a the group number. The areas are also sorted
alfabeticly to make it easier to read.
The Optional Data Line looks like:
<groupnumber> (up/download menuname)
1 readmail
Now only mail areas that have group number 1 are shown.
The groupnumber is entered in mconfig, see above,
The second parameter is the menu it will jump to. You can also
leave this out, it will return you then to the current menu, for
example if you use a Change Area option in your readmail menu.
After the use made a choice the menu readmail (in this example)
will be run. On the optional data line it will put:
<areanumber> <description>
20 From/To_the_sysop
In the menu readmail you can use &1 as areanumber and &2 as
description.
Here is another example. You have a mail menu in where the user
can choose between National, International and local areas. If he
does it will run a mailarealist menu that will run the readmail
menu:
Mail -> Mailarealist -> Readmail
Mail:
[N] National areas
[I] International areas
[L] Local areas
Readmail menu:
[R] Read messages
[W] Write messages
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The mailarealist menu will have to options:
1: Type 85, Optional data: 1 readmail
2: Type 3, Return from gosub.
Both lines have ^A as key. This way they are run directly when the
menu is called. So if you choose N for national you will get a
list with national areas. After you make your choice the menu
readmail is run. When you return from this menu you will be
presented with the list again.
This option is not for the novice sysop, but it will make much
easier for the experienced sysop as now you only need to enter new
areas into MCONFIG and you don't have to be bother with
having to adapt all those menu's.
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======================= Section 8 : Files ========================
==================================================================
FILE AREAS
The number of file areas you have is only limited to the amount of
free disk space. Each file area must have its own directory. That
directory must be specified on the Data Line in some menu options.
Each directory should contain a FILES.BBS file. This is an ASCII
file with a description of each file in the area (=directory).
One directory might contain the following files:
FILES.BBS
TCARC.TTP
TCARC.DOC
LHARC.PRG
LHARC.DOC
The FILES.BBS file should describe the other four files, perhaps
like this:
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Archive programs |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
TCARC.TTP [10] ARC compatible archiver, 50-80% faster.
TCARC.DOC [1] Documentation for TCARC.
LHARC.PRG v201 of LHarc-ST, for using .LZH archives.
LHARC.DOC Documentation for LHarc-ST.
STZIP.TOS STZIP 2.2, for using .ZIP archives (with docs)
When QuickBBS displays this list it will insert the size and date
of the file between the name and the description. If the file
isn't found the text '---MISSING---' is inserted instead.
FILES.BBS can contain comments lines. Any character which is not
usually part of a file name can be used to indicate a comment
line. Empty lines are also allowed, as are multiple spaces between
the file name and the description.
If a description is too long to fit onto one line Quick will word-
wrap and indent it on the next line. Your ASCII editor must be
able to handle long lines to use this feature. Tempus can, and so
can First Word. Some versions of Micro Emacs can't handle long
lines.
The number between brackets ([]) is the number of times a file is
downloaded. QuickBBS updates this number after a download, you can
en/disable this option in qconfig under toggles.
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THE FILE SEARCH FILE
...is called FLSEARCH.CTL and can be found in the home directory.
It's an ASCII list of all file areas in your BBS. Each line has
the following layout:
<path> <security> <description>
where <path> is the directory, <security> is the security level
needed to search the area and <description> is the name of the
area. An example:
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\GENERAL 10 General Area
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\COMMS 10 Communications Programs
\QBBS\DOWNLOAD\UTILS 20 Utilities
\QBBS\UPLOAD\GENERAL 50 Uploaded General Files
\QBBS\UPLOAD\COMMS 50 Uploaded Comms Programs
\QBBS\UPlOAD\UTILS 50 Uploaded Utilities
The menu options New Files and Search for File use this file. Each
line is checked for a valid Security Level and (if valid)
searched. Please note that the Security Levels in this file do not
affect uploading, downloading, file lists etc. They are only used
in the two option types above.
THE FILE AREA LISTER
This is menutype 86. With this option you can generate a list of
File Areas for the user to choose from. You can choose what areas
to list by using a search string. The areas are also sorted
alfabeticly to make it easier to read.
The Optional Data Line looks like:
<searchstring> (up/download menuname)
atari updown
Now only file areas that have ATARI in the description are shown.
This description is taken from the flsearch.ctl file. This way
you can make several list for different computers.
The searchstring is case sensitive!! Mind you on the first 20
characters of the description are shown. The word ATARI will be
taken out of the list though!
The second parameter is the menu it will jump to. You can also
leave this out, it will return you then to the current menu, for
example if you use a Change Area option in your up/download menu.
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After the use made a choice the menu updown (in this example) will
be run. On the optional data line it will put:
<path> <description>
c:\atari\falcon\ Falcon_files
In the up/down menu you can then use &1 as path and &2 as the
description.
Here is another example. You have a files menu in where the user
can choose between Atari, MS-DOS, Amiga areas. IF he does it will
run a filelist menu that will run the up/download menu:
Files -> Filelist -> Up/download
Files:
[A] Atari areas
[M] MS-DOS
Up/download menu:
[D] Download
[U] Upload
The filelist menu will have to options:
1: Type 86, Optional data: ATARI UPDOWN
2: Type 3, Return from gosub.
Both lines have ^A as key. This way they are run directly when the
menu is called. So if you choose A for atari you will get a list
with areas that have ATARI in de description. After you make your
choice the menu up/down is run. When you return from this menu you
will be presented with the list again.
This option is not for the novice sysop, but it will make much
easier for the experienced sysop as now you only need to enter new
areas into the FLSEARCH.CTL and you don't have to be bother with
having to adapt all those menu's.
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TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
When a user wants to upload or download a file the first thing he
sees is the protocol menu. If you haven't switched off any
protocols in QConfig the user can choose one of the following
transfer methods:
» Xmodem is the oldest and slowest. When downloading QuickBBS
will detect three flavours of Xmodem automatically: Xmodem
Checksum, Xmodem CRC and Xmodem 1K. The first two are very slow
(about 50% efficiency). Xmodem 1K is slightly faster if the
connection is good (about 60%), but slower on bad lines.
» Ymodem is derived from Xmodem. For some stupid reason some
communications and BBS programs think Xmodem 1K is Ymodem. This
is not true. Ymodem uses mixed 128 and 1024 byte blocks, and is
always a batch protocol (more than one file can be sent at
once). Ymodem is no faster than Xmodem 1K.
» Windowed Xmodem is another Xmodem flavour. It doesn't wait for
the receiver to acknowledge the block, but assumes that no news
is good news. Windowed Xmodem is much faster than the normal
Xmodem. In some ways it's rather like SEAlink, but it doesn't
support batch transfers. Efficiency is about 75%.
» Zmodem is the best of all. It supports batch transfers, and is
very fast (90% to 98% efficiency). It also uses 32 bit CRC
instead of 16 bit, making it much more reliable. If the transfer
fails during a Zmodem upload/download (carrier lost or any other
cause) you don't have to start all over again, Zmodem will
continue where it left off!
The efficiency is the ratio between the actual number of bytes
transferred per second and the theoretically possible number of
bytes per second.
Always use Zmodem if at all possible. It's much faster, much
easier and much more reliable.
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UPLOADS & DOWNLOADS
When downloading Quick will ask for the files to transfer. If
Ymodem or Zmodem are selected the user can type in more than one
filename, separated by spaces. Quick will check the download
limit, time limit and start the download. If the download is
succesfull QuickBBS will add a number to the file description like
this:
QUICKBBS.ZIP [100] The BEST Atari ST(E)/TT/Falcon BBS
The number between brackets [] is the number of times a file is
download.
NOTE: The user can download any file from the directory you
specify. A file doesn't have to be described in
FILES.BBS for the user to download it.
When uploading files with a non-batch protocol the user must type
the file name. The file may not yet exist in the directory to
which the user is uploading. With a batch protocol Quick will not
allow existing files to be overwritten. After the transfer the
user must type in a description for each file he uploaded. This
description will be added to the end of FILES.BBS. The time used
during an upload is added to the users time limit.
The log file SYSTEM.LOG will show you what the user has uploaded
or downloaded. Two additional log files are updated, called
UPLOAD.LOG and DOWNLOAD.LOG.
Both log files contain 1 file per line. Lines starting with an
asterisk (*) should be ignored. Each line in UPLOAD.LOG has the
following format:
TP User_Name FILESPEC Description
and DOWNLOAD.LOG just contains:
TP User_Name FILESPEC
where...
» TP is the transfer protocol:
»» XM : Xmodem Checksum or CRC
»» XK : Xmodem 1K
»» YM : Ymodem
»» WX : Windowed Xmodem
»» ZM : Zmodem
» User_Name is the name of the user, with an underscore to mark
spaces,
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» FILESPEC is the path + name of the file,
» Description is the file description entered by the user.
Example: James Bond uploads a file called PACMAN.LZH to the
General Area. He uses Zmodem to upload the file. The line added to
UPLOAD.LOG would be something like...
ZM James_Bond \QBBS\UPLOAD\GENERAL\PACMAN.LZH Very old game.
The line is only added if the transfer was successful, of course,
and ONLINE.ARC and ONLINE.LZH (see Online Archiver) are also
added, when they are downloaded.
TRANSFER DRIVERS
At the moment Quick uses a number of different driver programs to
upload and download files. Some are internal, others are external.
In QConfig you can select whether you wish to use the internal or
the external drivers. This is what Quick uses:
» XFER.000 is always used for Ymodem and Windowed Xmodem. In
QConfig you can get Quick to use this for the
'normal' Xmodem transfers too.
The driver must be in the home directory. Try the internal
drivers first. If they cause problems switch to the external one,
and please let us know what's going wrong!
EXTERNAL PROTOCOLS
To top it all off you can hang virtual every protocol on QuickBBS
using the external protocol interface. You must Configure a
protocol firstly in Qconfig under the external protocol section.
Read that section of the document first! You must also make a kind
of script file for each protocol. We use the door file interface
for this. As example there are some .DOR files included. For
example ZMODEM.DOR for XYZ.TTP, it might look like:
uploadpath D:\ATARI\UPLOADS\
upload C:\QBBS\XYZ.TTP -c D:\ATARI\UPLOADS\
download C:\QBBS\XYZ.TTP -U -c *PATH*FILES
*PATH is replaced by the current path, and *FILES by the files the
user wants to download.
Upload defines the filename of the upload protocol and it's
commandline.
Download does the same for the download protocol.
Uploadpath is special and only need if you have 1 special
uploadpath. Normally QuickBBS scans the *PATH (current path) for
new uploaded files. If Uploadpath is specified then that directory
is scanned in stead.
You can use almost all .DOR file commands in this file too, mayby
you need it to generate a commandline. But the complete .DOR is
read. After that is done QuickBBS will start the protocol.
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THE ONLINE ARCHIVER
Ever wanted to download the documentation files from a 200 Kb
archive before you downloaded the rest, just to make sure you
really want it? Or perhaps you've lost that one little
configuration file from a large archive? In that case the Online
Archiver would come in very handy.
The Online Archiver lets you extract files from one or more .ARC
or .LZH archives and put them into a temporary archive called
ONLINE.ARC or ONLINE.LZH, ready for downloading.
These Online Archives are placed in a directory you specified in
QConfig. They can be downloaded from the Online Archiver menu, and
are deleted when Quick exits. In QConfig you can specify the
maximum size of these archives in Kb, or (by entering 0) let Quick
use all available disk space, minus a small safety buffer.
If no Online Archive exists the user is required to select an
archive type - Arc or LHarc. Because different compression methods
are used these two can't be mixed. The user can then add files to
the Online Archive, remove files, clear the whole archive (and
select a new type) or download it.
QuickBBS doesn't need ARC or LHarc to create the archives. The
archiving routines are internal.
If an error occurs during an archive operation (perhaps because
of a damaged archive) the log file will contain a warning, so you
can do something about it. The Online Archive will be cleared.
The Online Archiver menus each have a help option which display
the OARCTYPE and OARCHELP files. You will have to promote the
Online Archiver a bit. Most users haven't the slightest idea what
it is, and don't go to the 'trouble' of finding out how it works
if they do know what it is... Just say it saves money, and they'll
come around sooner or later 8-)
THE FILE BROWSER
is menu option type 83. A textfile is split up into pages and
displayed page by page, with a menu inbetween each page allowing
the user to move forward, backward etc. as well as search the text
for a string or jump to a certain page. You could put a table of
contents on page 1, and let the user use the 'Goto' option to jump
to the page of his choice.
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MARK FILE MENU
Is menutype 84. It looks a bit like the browser. A user can list
the files in an area. he can also jump to a certain page. Jumping
to the last page will show him the newest files.
He can mark files to download. With M of Mark you will get into
the Mark files menu. Here you can mark a file for download, just
enter it's number. The user can also list what files are already
marked en delete some of them for the list. If he decides to
download he can choose Download from the main menu. All files will
be send (if he his levels check out!). The marked files are only
remember if the user stays in the Mark File menu. In a future
version you can expect global downloads.
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======================= Section 9 : Doors ========================
==================================================================
EXTERNAL PROGRAMS
Quick can start up external programs, also known as Doors. A lot
of boards run DoorGames, where the user can play a game against
other users of the BBS.
Menu option type 7 (Execute Program) will run anything you specify
on the Data Line (path+name+extension). Everything after the
program name is passed to that program on the command line. The
current directory is changed to the directory where the program is
located.
External programs may never modify the order of the user base or
the LastRead pointers. The program may change the current user
record, but that wouldn't make much sense because Quick will
overwrite it when the user logs off.
Because Quick remains in memory while an external program is being
executed you will need enough spare RAM. Any program which is
started while the user is online should...
» trap errors and exit if one occurs. It should not wait for input
from the SysOp.
» monitor the carrier and exit if the carrier is lost.
» keep track of the amount of time the user has left, and exit
when the time is nearly up.
» exit if the user doesn't type anything for a minute or two (in
case he's fallen asleep).
» handle its own modem I/O.
Most DoorGames have some way of doing this. But, you ask, how does
the program know how much time the user has left? It can find out
in two of different way:
» The data line can contain a command line to pass to the program.
There are some special codes that you can put in there which are
replaced by Quick:
»» *A is replaced by the users current alias,
»» *B is replaced by the current baudrate or 0 in local mode,
»» *C is replaced by the errorlevel that is returned when a
program is executed
»» *F is replaced by the users first name,
»» *G is replaced by the number of the users graphics mode,
»» *L is replaced by the users last name,
»» *O is replaced by the users account,
»» *P (privilege) is replaced by the users security level,
»» *R is replaced by the users record number in USERS.BBS,
»» *T (time) is replaced by the number of minutes the user has
left.
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A special case is *S, which makes Quick leave the Status Line at
the bottom of the screen on, handy for programs which don't show
you who is online.
Another special case is the *E code, which executes the commands
in a little script file. It must be the first code on the data
line. More on that later.
Example: James Bond is online at 2400 baud and has 20 minutes
left. If the data line is...
\QBBS\GAMES\MR\MOONRAKE.TTP baud *B name *F time *T
...then Quick will change the current directory to
\QBBS\GAMES\MR\, start up MOONRAKE.TTP with command line...
baud 2400 name James time 20
Refer to the documentation of the program you wish to start to
see what parameters it needs.
» Before the program is started Quick will write a few files from
which the external program can read the user info. The files are
»» LASTUSER.LOG is compatible to Pandora. It's plain ASCII, and
contains the users name on line 1, his security level on line
2, a zero on line 3 and finally the number of minutes left on
line 4.
»» DORINFO1.DEF is also an ASCII file, and contains...
»»» the SysOps first name,
»»» the SysOps last name,
»»» the current baudrate (0 = Local),
»»» the users first name,
»»» the users last name,
»»» where the guy lives,
»»» his graphics mode,
»»» the length of his screen,
»»» his security level,
»»» the number of minutes left,
»»» his record number in the USERS.BBS file.
»» FOREM.DAT is compatible to the FoReM BBS program. Refer to
the FoReM documentation of info about this file,
»» EXITINFO.BBS described in the developers guide.
The documentation of DoorGames will usually say what files are
used.
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DOR FILES
The special *E code can be used to execute a .DOR file. The data
line should contain something like
*E game
You can also pass parameters to the dor file like:
*E game param1 param2 param3 param4
You can use these parameters in the .DOR file with the known &1,
&2 etc. parameters.
Quick will execute the commands it finds in a file called GAME.DOR
in the home directory. Valid commands in that file are:
» ACCOUNT <number> Changes the users account. Number can
be expressed in three ways:
+n increases the users account by n.
-n decreases the users account by n.
n sets the users account to n.
The account cannot go above or below the
maximum or minimum set in qconfig.
ACCOUNT +10 (ACCOUNT up 10)
ACCOUNT -5 (ACCOUNT down 5)
ACCOUNT 50 (ACCOUNT set to 50)
» CD <path> Changes the current directory to <path>. Can
change to another drive too. Example:
CD c:\qbbs\doors\galemp
» CL <command> Sets the current command line which will be
used when a program is executed (see EXEC) to
<command>, which may contain the usual
codes like *F, *B etc. but not *E. Example:
cl -N=*F_*L -T=*T
» CLRFLAG <flag> Is the opposite of SETFLAG and switches one of
the users flags off.
» CLS Clears the screen
» COPY <src> <dest> Copies file <src> to <dest>. Full path may be
specified, but wildcards are not allowed.
Example:
Copy lastuser.log \doors\ste\lastuser.log
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» CTIME <number> Increases, decreases or sets time limit for
the rest of the current session. Works like
ACCOUNT.
» DEL <spec> Deletes all file matching the specification
<spec>. Examples:
DEL \qbbs\doors\dorinfo1.def
Del \qbbs\temp\*.*
» DEXIST <path> Same as FEXIST, but for Directories (folders)
» DLIMIT <number> Increases, decreases or sets the download
limit for the current session. Works the same
as ACCOUNT.
» ECHO <text> Same as Send, see there for info.
» EXEC <program> <cl> Executes <program>, using the command line
set with CL, or <cl> if used. QuickBBS checks
whether the file exists, releases (nearly) all
memory then executes. You must specify the
extension (e.g. STE.PRG or GALEMP.TOS). If the
program exits with an errorlevel, QuickBBS
will put that in the logfile. Examples:
Exec \doors\galemp\galemp.tos
EXEC ste.prg
» EXIT Stop executing the current .DOR file and
return.
» FEXIST <file> Checks if <file> exist. The result is stored
in the parameter *C. (*C=1 file exist)
» GOTO <label> Jump to a label. A label is preced by a : and
starts at the beginning of a line. Example of
a label:
:start
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» IF <value> <operator> <value> THEN <command>
<operator> can be :
= equal
~ equal, case independent
<> not equal
> greater than
< smaller than
=> greater or equal
<= smaller or equal
$ contains the string
Valid parameters for <value> are :
All the *x parameters listed before and :
*C result code of FEXIST or
DEXIST
*ASC the ASCII value of the
character pressed.
*CHR the character pressed.
*TXT string entered after an INPUT
command.
&<n> parameter n
<command> can be any .DOR command.
» INPUT <type> [<len>] [<"str">]
Allows the user to enter a line of text. The
string entered will be stored in the *TXT
parameter.
<type> can be ?
ANY all characters (ASCII 32 .. 126)
are valid
USER to enter a username
PASSWORD to enter a password, asterisks
are echoed
FILE to enter a file name
<len> (optional) is the maximum length of the
the line (default is 80)
<"str"> (optional) is a string with valid
characters. Put them between ""
» KEY Wait for the user to press a key.
The characters pressed is stored in two
parameters:
*CHR the key pressed
*ASC the ASCII value of the key
pressed
» LEVEL <number> Changes the users security level. Works the
same as with ACCOUNT.
» LOCAL <text> Almost identical to SEND and ECHO, but it only
displays it locally (not via the modem)
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» LOG <option> <data> Writes <text> to the system log file
» MENU <option> <data>
Execute a QuickBBS menu option.
<option> can be every menu option except for
the numbers 0 to 4, 7 and 40.
<data> is the optional data line you would
normally use.
» PAUSE Prompt and wait for a [Return]
» PROMT <text> Identical to SEND and ECHO commands, but
leaves the cursor on the same line. You could
do and INPUT after this.
» READMARKED This will try to read the file MARKED.DAT in
the QBBS directory. This files should contain
all message that have to be read. After this
it will show all the marked messages. Read the
mailscan section for more info.
» REN <old> <new> Renames file <old> to <new>. This can also be
used to move a file, by using a different
path, as long as it is moved within one
partition. Wildcards are not allowed.
Examples:
ren forem.dat \qbbs\doors\progs\forem.dat
REN lastuser.log xyz.log
» SEND <text> Sends the line <text> to the user, followed by
a carriage return and line feed. Examples:
Send Wait a sec, getting D&D for you...
SEND Back to QuickBBS!
» SETFLAG <flag> Switches one of the users flags on. The <flag>
parameter is two characters long. The first
can be between A and D, the second between 1
and 8, indicating the flag to switch on.
Examples:
SETFLAG a1
SetFlag d8
» SHOW <file> Displays <file> in exactly the same way menu
option type 5 does. Examples:
Show DDST1
Show GoodBye
Not valid:
Show \wp\manual.doc
Show ddst1.asc
Show doors\score.vtm
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» STATUS <ON/OFF> Switches the status bar on or off. The status
bar will remain on the screen while the
program is being executed. Handy for doors
that don't show you who is online.
» SYSTEM <command> This command can only be used with three
command line interpreters: Craft, Mupfel and
Gulam. QuickBBS can acces these shells
directly, without needing to load the program
files, by calling them through the shell_p
system variable. The presence and type of the
shell is checked. If anyone knows of other
shells which support the shell_p variable
correctly, please let us know. And example:
SYSTEM ls
Will display a directory listing ("ls" is the
Unix command which does this, supported by all
three shells). Programs and script files can
also be started through the SYSTEM command as
long as they free memory when completed. Due
to the case sensitivity of Unix shells, the
command is NOT converted to uppercase. The
return code of the command can also be
accessed with the *C parameter.
» TIME <number> Increase, decrease or set time limit for the
rest of the day. Works like ACCOUNT.
» WRITE <type> Will write a certain file (specified by
<type>) in the current directory. Examples:
Write lastuser.log
write FOREM.DAT
WRITE DorInfo1.Def
If an error occurs while a .DOR file is being executed QuickBBS
will write a message in the log file and return to the menu which
started the file. Errorlevels returned by the executed program are
not errors.
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EXIT WITH ERRORLEVEL
If you are running QuickBBS using a batch file you can use option
type 15 (Exit with ErrorLevel) to run your doors. Quick will write
the 'door files' and exit with the errorlevel you specified in the
Data Line. The connection is not terminated.
The batch file can detect the errorlevel and start up another
program.
When the program returns the batch file can start up QuickBBS
again. By passing the -R switch on the command line Quick won't
ask the user for a name/password, but read the EXITINFO.BBS file
instead. The user is returned to the top menu.
This method has three good points and three bad points:
+ You have much more RAM free, because Quick doesn't remain in
memory.
+ The user record can be changed. Quick will re-read the record
when it is started with the -R switch.
+ You can use any batch file commands and any utility program you
like,
- The user is returned to the top menu, instead of to the menu
which contained the exit-with-errorlevel option.
- It takes a while for Quick to load and read its configuration.
- This method can only be used in conjunction with a batch file,
not when QuickStart is being used.
Note that you still can't run programs which change the order of
the user base, because Quick saves the user record number to one
of the door files and reads it again when it is restarted.
As always, it's up to you...
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====================== Section 10 : FidoNet ======================
==================================================================
WHAT IS FIDONET?
Far back in the mists of ancient time, in the great and glorious
days of CP/M and Commodore 64's, life was wild, rich and largely
tax free. In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high,
men were real men, women were real women, and small furry
creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from
Alpha Centauri.
It was in those days that a brave young pioneer called Tom
Jennings named a random group of bytes, which by an entirely
meaningless coincidence actually did something, after his pet dog
Fido.
The random group of bytes, when inserted into a certain piece of
machinery called a PC, allowed carbon-based bipedal life-forms who
had just discovered the basics of datacommunications (henceforth
known as Users) to spend hours and hours reading bulletins,
posting and reading messages and - best of all - sending and
receiving other random groups of bytes they called files. The
users chose to call all this a Bulletin Board System.
Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so
mindbogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that
some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof
of the non-existence of God. The argument goes something like
this:
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies
faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says Man, "the BBS is a dead giveaway isn't it? It
could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so
therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly
vanishes into a puff of logic.
"Oh, that was easy," says Man, and for an encore goes on to
prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next
zebra crossing.
<loosely based on the Babel Fish entry in The Hitch Hikers Guide>
In the meantime Fido was feeling rather lonely. So TJ thought it
would be a pretty neat idea if he added some more random bytes to
his Fido program which automatically talked to other Fido's. And
that's how FidoNet was created.
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PRACTICAL, PLEASE...
Oh, you don't like fun manuals? Guess I'd better explain it
differently then...
FidoNet links more than 20000 (!) Bulletin Boards world-wide. It
defines a standard way of transferring messages, files and other
random groups of bytes (oops, sorry) between these boards.
Messages on a BBS which is connected FidoNet can be split up into
three groups:
» Local Mail: these messages don't go anywhere.
» Network Mail or NetMail: these messages are sent to one other
BBS which is the user specifies.
» EchoMail: these messages are sent to all other boards in FidoNet
who wish to receive them.
NetMail is normally used for person-to-person mail. If - for
instance - you have a friend on the other side of the world who
calls a FidoNet-BBS there, you can send him messages. The message
is sent to that board only (although it may be routed, but we'll
keep that for later).
EchoMail is divided up into a whole lot of different topics
(areas). There are EchoMail areas for animal lovers, cooks, Basic
programmers and dentists, to name but a few. Some EchoMail areas
are national (e.g. German), some are continental (e.g. European).
There are quite a few world-wide areas too.
By posting a message in an EchoMail area it can be read on each
and every BBS which carries that area. Any problem you wish to
pose is usually answered within days, if not hours. You, the
SysOp, can choose from a wide selection of different topics.
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FIDONET ORGANISATION
In the following section I will explain how FidoNet is organised.
At least, what the theory behind the organisation is. In practice
the organisation differs on quite a few points.
Of course it would be stupid, impossible in fact, to call each
connected BBS when one of your users has entered a message in an
EchoMail area. It would also be silly if ten boards sent their own
mail to the other side of the world. It would be much cheaper if
just one BBS gathered the mail and sent it all at once.
The organisation of FidoNet can be viewed in two different ways:
the topographic organisation and the structural or hierarchical
organisation.
The topographic organisation can be seen in figure 5.1. The whole
world is divided into a number of different Zones. Zone 1 is
America, zone 2 is Europe and zone 3 is Australia/Asia. There
aren't many connections in Africa, so it is included in zone 2.
Each zone is subdivided into Regions. The regions don't have any
effect on the structural organisation, and are usually
disregarded.
Each region contains Networks. A network is generally a group of
boards located in the same geographic area, to cut down phone
costs. The actual Bulletin Boards are called Nodes.
When you look at the structural organisation (figure 5.2) you will
see that each zone has a sort of tree shape. Right up at the top
of the tree (or at the root, if you like) we have a ZoneGate. The
ZoneGate takes care of all inter-zone mail. It calls other
ZoneGates in other zones when mail must be transferred from one
zone to another. So you could say that the ZoneGate is head of the
zone.
At the head of each network we have a Host. The host takes care of
inter-network mail. If a node sends a message to a node in a
different network, it goes via the host.
In some large networks Hubs are used. Some networks have hundreds
of nodes. One single host couldn't handle that many calls, so hubs
are introduced. They act as a host for a group of nodes.
Right down at the bottom of the tree you'll see the nodes
themselves. By the way, a zonegate, host or hub is a node too!
Each node has a number, the host is usually just node number 0.
As I stated earlier, this is how it works in theory. To speed
things up a bit, some hosts call inter-zone themselves. And a node
often sends mail for another network to the host of that other
network.
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For EchoMail an EchoMail Backbone is used. It transfers the
EchoMail between the hosts (generally all hosts in one region),
and to and from other regions.
NETWORK ADDRESSES
Every BBS in the network has its own address which has the
following format:
zone:net/node
where 'zone' is the zone number, 'net' is the network number and
'node' is the node number. Our Support BBS (zone 2, network 282,
node 301) has address
2:282/301
Hosts are normally node 0 in a network. So, the host of network
282 would have address
2:282/0
This address is unique for each node in FidoNet. No two nodes have
the same address. If you don't yet have an address you should ask
your Regional Coordinator or a local Host for information about
getting one.
POINTS
A fairly new part of FidoNet is the point. A point is one level
lower than a node. It's really just a sort of super-user who
doesn't log into your BBS to read his mail, but uses a mailer to
collect it and read it at home, offline. Before you start
promising people all sorts of things you should have your board
running in FidoNet without major problems for a few months.
QuickBBS doesn't need to know anything about points. They are just
extra nodes, as far as Quick is concerned.
Points have a different format address, with an extra number at
the end. The first three numbers are generally the same as their
boss (the node which sends them mail). The last number is their
point number. So a point of our Support BBS might have address
2:282/301.4
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WHAT'S A MAILER?
A mailer is a program which handles all the mail transfers from
one node to another. It sits 'in front' of QuickBBS and waits for
the phone to ring. If there's a user at the other end it starts up
QuickBBS. If the other end is a mailer it may send or receive some
mail.
At the moment there are two mailers available for the ST: The-Box
and Binkley/ST. Both are PD/Shareware, downloadable from the
Support BBS.
It's not up to me to tell you which mailer you should use. Both
mailers have their positive and negative sides. The-Box is a very
reliable and flexible mailer, but the user interface is
practically non-existent. Binkley on the other hand looks very
pretty, but isn't as stable or as powerful as The-Box. It's up to
you to decide what you think is more important. Example
configuration files given here are for The-Box. Binkley uses
similar methods though.
IMPORT AND EXPORT
Neither The-Box nor Binkley understand the way in which QuickBBS
stores the messages. Outgoing mail (from us to someone else) must
be exported. Any incoming mail will have to be imported before
QuickBBS can use it.
To export and import mail we have three programs, part of the
Bermuda package. They are
» IMPORT.TTP for importing NetMail and EchoMail from FidoNet
into the QuickBBS message base.
» PACK.TTP for exporting NetMail from the QuickBBS message
base to FidoNet.
» SCAN.TTP for copying outgoing EchoMail into the Netmail
area or directly to FidoNet.
» CRUNCH.TTP for deleting deleted messages in the messagebase,
it can also delete mail older then xx days.
Basicly the same as out Fastpack.
The mailer sends and receives packets. These are files containing
one or more messages. Import will translate packets to .HDR and
.MSG files for QuickBBS to use, pack will do the precise opposite.
Scan only copies EchoMail to the NetMail or directly in packets if
yuo use -p on the commandline area. Figure 5.3 shows this in
schematic form. Even if you are running Binkley you will need
these programs from the The-Box package. Another program you will
need is XLTLST for translating the NodeList. For Binkley ST you
should use PARSELST or BTNC to translate the nodelist.
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INSTALLING THE MAILER
To run QuickBBS with a mailer you will need a shell. The
environment variable MAILER should point to the directory
containing your mailer configuration files (for Import, pack and
Scan). Most shells can set the variable with either
SET MAILER=\QBBS\MAILER\
or
setenv MAILER=\QBBS\MAILER\
but fill in your own path of course. More on shells, batch files
and environment variables later.
In your mailer configuration file you will need to define two
special directories which will contain your InBound and OutBound
packets. You will also need a directory for your NodeList files
and one for your mailer configuration files.
Import looks in the Inbound directory to see if there are any
packets which need unpacking. Pack places outgoing mail in the
OutBound directory.
Import and Pack use a file called AREAS.BBS to find out what areas
are linked to other nodes. The first line contains the origin
line. Because QuickBBS has already filled this one in it isn't
used. The format of the rest of the file is:
<filespec> <name> [node] [node] [node...]
where...
» filespec is the path to the message area, followed by the 4-
digit area number. Do not add an extension.
» name can be:
»» LOCAL:xxxxx to indicate a local area which should not be
exported,
»» MAIL to indicate that this area is the NetMail area,
»» anything else should be the name of the EchoMail area. Your
host can tell you what the name of each area is.
» node is an address in the format zone:net/node. The area is sent
to and received from this node.
The address following the NetMail area should be the address of
your host. You can only have one NetMail area!
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Example: You have five areas in your BBS: two local ones (1 and
2), a NetMail one (3) and two EchoMail areas (4 and 5) called
BASIC and CHAT. NetMail is sent to your host 2:282/0, and so is
the BASIC echo. The CHAT echo is an area you share only with a
friendly node, 2:282/350. Your AREAS.BBS file would look like
this:
<Dummy Origin Line>
\QBBS\MSGS\0001 LOCAL:General_Area
\QBBS\MSGS\0002 LOCAL:From/To_SysOp
\QBBS\MSGS\0003 MAIL 282/0
\QBBS\MSGS\0004 BASIC 282/0
\QBBS\MSGS\0005 CHAT 282/350
The name of an area which you define in MConfig has nothing to do
with the name of the EchoMail area in AREAS.BBS!
COMPILING THE NODELIST
Both Quick and the mailer need to know what the structure of the
network is. This structure is described in the NodeList. Ask your
host for the most recent one. A new nodelist is published each
week.
Because the nodelist is a few hundred Kb in size it would cost far
too much to get a whole nodelist every week. To solve that the
FidoNet people have thought up a slightly cheaper way: the
NodeDiff file. This contains all the differences between last
weeks nodelist and the new one. It's much smaller than the
complete nodelist. Most hosts can automatically send you the new
NodeDiff each week.
The nodelist and nodediff files are called NODELIST.nnn and
NODEDIFF.nnn, where 'nnn' is the day on which the file was
published. The files are usually archived. The archives are called
NODELIST.Ann and NODEDIFF.Ann.
Before Quick and The-Box or Binkley can use the nodelist and
nodediff files (which are in ASCII form, very slow) they must be
compiled. You can use XLTLST to do this for you. First it extracts
the files from the archives using ARC. It then takes the old
nodelist and the new nodediff and generates a new nodelist.
Finally it translates the nodelist file from ASCII to binary. The
output is placed in two files: MAILER.NET and MAILER.NOD. For
Binkley you must use PARSELST which wil generate a NODELIST.DAT
and NODELIST.IDX. You could also use BTNC, in the current version
(before 2.0) it uses 3 files: DOMAINS.BNL, INDEX.BNL,
NODEINFO.BNL. Use QConfig to tell QuickBBS where these files are.
With a little experimentation you should be able to make the
nodelist compilation automatic.
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WRITING NETMAIL
When you write a NetMail message in QuickBBS you will have to
enter the address of the node where the message should be sent.
This is done in the NodeList Menu. If you know the address you can
just type it in. If you don't, use the list or search options to
find out.
To send NetMail you must have credit. The amount of credit a user
has can be changed in UserEdit. When a message is sent the cost of
the message is subtracted from the users credit. In the XLTLST or
PARSELST control file you can specify what a message will cost,
based on the phone number (area code) of the destination node.
READING AND WRITING ECHOMAIL
EchoMail is fairly transparent to the user. Writing an EchoMail
message is the same as writing a message in a local area. When
reading EchoMail you will notice a few extra lines at the bottom
of the message.
The line beginning with '---' is the Tear Line. It identifies the
program which was used to write the message. The line beginning
with '* Origin' is the Origin Line. This identifies the BBS from
which the message was sent. It is followed by the address of the
node.
The origin line which is added by QuickBBS can be defined in
MConfig. Each area can have a different origin line. You should
always put at least the name of your BBS in the origin line. If
possible, put the phone number in too. Don't include your address,
it will be added by Quick.
GENERATING ECHOMAIL
The Scan program 'exports' EchoMail. It exports it for each node
linked to the area. Let's write an EchoMail message using QuickBBS
to see if everything works okay.
Make sure you have correct AREAS.BBS and TB.CFG (The-Box
Configuration) files, then start Scan.
Each area in AREAS.BBS will be scanned for outgoing EchoMail. You
should put -P on the commandline, then it creates directly
mailpackets.
After this you must run Pack, it will archive the Packets so they
can be send to the nodes.
One of the options in the Read menu is the Kludge command. This
option switches off the filtering of Kludge Lines (sometimes
called ^A lines). Some extra lines are included in an EchoMail
message. These are the Kludge Lines. Normally the message
contains two sorts of kludges: PATH and SEEN-BY. They help the
EchoMail utilities keep track of which nodes have received the
message (SEEN-BY) and how the message got here (PATH).
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EVENTS AND ROUTING
Before you can export any mail you have to tell Pack when the mail
must be sent. This is done in two files, called the Event and
Route files. These files are TB.EVT and TB.RTE and are described
in detail in the Export and The-Box documentation. Refer to the
Jargon Guide in the appendix section to find out what all the
technical talk means.
An event is a 'piece of day'. With events you can split the day up
into various parts, and tell The-Box how it should act during such
a period. If you don't understand how the TB.EVT file works, just
put the following lines in it:
a ALL 00:00 01:59 b c t=1,10 a=120 m=10,10
b ALL 02:00 02:59 t=1,10 a=120 m=10,10
c ALL 03:00 23:59 b c t=1,10 a=120 m=10,10
With routing you can send your mail via another node (generally
your host), so that you don't go sending mail all over the world.
In the route file you also define what nodes you want to call,
when to call them, whether or not you want to pick up any mail
they have waiting for you etc. If you don't understand how the
TB.RTE file works, use the above event example and...
Route-To zone:net/node ALL
Schedule B
Poll zone:net/node
and replace the 'zone:net/node' with the address of your host.
This will cause mail to be sent to your host between 2 and 3
o'clock at night (check with your host to see what time suits him
best). No users will be allowed into the BBS during this period.
EXPORTING MAIL
The Pack program translates outgoing messages in the NetMail area
(including EchoMail copied by Scan) into packets in the OutBound
directory. These packets can be sent by the mailer.
When Pack has done its job correctly you should find a packet in
the outbound directory (called x.CM, for Crash Mail). Now start up
The-Box with command line UNATTENDED and watch your mail being
sent!
IMPORTING MAIL
Of course it's not all one-way traffic: other nodes can call your
mailer. They might send you mail, which must be translated from
Packet format to the QuickBBS message base. This is done by
Import. The InBound directory is scanned for packets. If Import
finds one it will unpack it and place it in the correct area,
depending on the AREA kludge. Easy huh?
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ARCHIVED MAIL
Most modern mailers and mail utilities can handle ArcMail. An
ArcMail file just contains all packets to one node ARCed together.
ArcMail is used for two reasons: it saves time (and money), and
due to the CRC check in ARC it improves reliability.
The ARC.TTP program should be in the current directory to import
and export ArcMail. You an specify which nodes are sent ArcMail in
the route file, or on the command line (see the Export docs).
LZHMail is the same as ArcMail, but LHarc is used instead of ARC.
LHarc is much better at compressing than ARC is.
ZIPMail is again the same but for you need STZip to extract.
ZIPMail is the most commonly used in fidonet now.
BATCH FILES AND SUCH
As a FidoNet node you use a mailer instead of QuickStart. The
mailer doesn't know as much about QuickBBS as QuickStart does. So
we need to use a shell and a batch file to start up the mailer,
the mail utilities and QuickBBS.
It's all based on ErrorLevels. An ErrorLevel is a value returned
by a program. It can be used by the shell to determine which
action to take.
The-Box, for instance, exits with a certain errorlevel when mail
is received (which you defined in TB.EVT). In the batch file you
can tell the shell that import should be started when that
errorlevel is returned.
When The-Box detects a user on the other end it will exit with an
errorlevel of baudrate/100 (e.g. 1200 baud = errorlevel 12). The
batch file detects this, and starts up QuickBBS. QuickBBS must be
told what the current baudrate is. This is done with the -B
parameter on the command line.
When you press one of the function keys in The-Box it will exit
with an errorlevel of 10 * key (e.g. 70 for F7). Use this to log
into the BBS locally. To start Quick in local mode you should put
the -L parameter on the command line.
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A very simple batch file for PCommand might look like this
(comments in brackets should not be typed in) ...
CD \qbbs (change directory)
:start ("Start" Label)
tb unattended (run The-Box)
IF ERRORLEVEL 100 GOTO qlocal (errorlevel 100? Local BBS)
IF ERRORLEVEL 192 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 192? 19200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 144 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 144? 14400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 96 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 96? 9600 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 48 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 48? 4800 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 24 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 24? 2400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 12 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 12? 1200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 3? 300 bps)
GOTO end (lower than 3? Exit!)
:qlocal ("BBS Local" label)
quickbbs -L (run Quick in local mode)
GOTO start (jump back to start)
:qbbs ("BBS online" label)
quickbbs -B%:e00 (run Quick at xx00 bps)
GOTO start (restart)
:end (jump to here to exit)
echo BBS Offline. (show message)
Although this very simple it should work. It doesn't provide any
handling of import or export though. A more complete example can
be found in the appendix section. To log in locally press f10.
Environment Variables can be used to help Quick and The-Box find
their configuration files. An Environment Variable is a value
which the shell can pass to any program it starts. They usually
have the form NAME=VALUE. We're interested in two variables:
MAILER and QBBS. The MAILER variable should point to the directory
containing the configuration files for The-Box (TB.CFG, TB.RTE
etc). The QBBS variable should point to the QuickBBS home
directory (with USERS.BBS etc).
When these variables have been set you can start The-Box, Quick
and the utilities from any directory you like, for instance by
typing...
\QBBS\QCONFIG
when you're in \COMMS\FLASH\. QConfig will still find the
configuration files. Most shells use the set or setenv command to
define an environment variable. Refer to your shell documentation.
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==================== Section 11 : Appendices =====================
==================================================================
APPENDIX A - JARGON GUIDE
Of all areas of computer science, communications is probably in
the top-5 of the list when it comes to the amount of jargon which
is used. To help you understand what everyone is talking about I
have compiled a list of the most frequently used jargon.
A
Adams, Douglas ex-script-writer of numerous TV and radio
series (among which Doctor Who), ex-actor, ex-
director, ex-barn-builder, ex-chicken-shed-
cleaner, ex-lots-of-other-silly-things and
author of the best book ever written: The
Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. Lives in
Islington with a lady barrister and an Apple
Macintosh.
Address unique code which identifies a FidoNet node.
It usually has the form zone:net/node or (in
point addressing) zone:net/node.point.
Ansi 1. American National Standards Institute, an
organization which develops and describes
all sorts of standards.
2. Ansi X3.64 is a terminal emulation standard
often used on large computer systems. VT-
100 and Ansi-BBS are subsets of this
standard.
3. Ansi-BBS is a subset of Ansi X3.64, with
some additional escapes, and is used by IBM
and compatible computers. It is implemented
in a device driver called ANSI.SYS, and
often used in communications packages.
ARC 1. archiver developed by System Enhancement
Associates (SEA).
2. an ARC: archive created by an archiver.
3. to ARC: to add files to an archive or
create a new archive.
Archive 1. one or more files combined into one file by
an archiver. The files are usually
compressed.
2. to archive: to add files to an archive or
to create a new archive.
Archiver program which can create and extract archives.
ArcMail one or more packets to a single node placed in
an archive.
Area part of the message base of a BBS which
contains messages which have the same or
similar topic. Often called Board.
Arrrggghhh! sound made by a Sysop when a user uploads the
same file for the one-hundred-and-twenty-
second time.
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ASCII file a text file consisting of any codes between 32
and 127. Each line (including the last line!)
should be terminated with a CRLF sequence
(Carriage Return followed by a Line Feed,
codes 13 and 10).
Asynchronous in an Asynchronous connection the transmitting
side sends a start bit, then 8 data bits and
one or two stop bits. No synchronisation lines
are needed (we only have one: the phone line).
All BBS systems use Asynchronous connections.
AutoDL short for Auto DownLoad. This is a sequence of
characters which triggers a file transfer with
Zmodem.
Auto Execute menu option which is executed while the menu
is being loaded. Options which have a ^A as
key are Auto Executed. Often called AutoExec.
B
Batch File file containing instructions for a shell,
which are sequentially executed.
Batch Protocol file transfer protocol which can send/receive
more than one file in one go. The file names,
sizes and dates are usually sent.
BaudRate speed at which a modem can work. This is not
really the same as BPS, but nobody seems to
care.
BBS short for Bulletin Board System (or Service).
If you didn't know this one you won't be
needing QuickBBS!
BiModem fairly new transfer protocol which allows data
transfer in two directions simultaneously,
e.g. user can upload and download at the same
time. Written in 8088 assembler, so no chance
of ever having that in QuickBBS ST I'm afraid.
Binkley mailer program developed on MS-DOS systems and
ported to the ST.
Board see Area.
Boss a node in FidoNet which has points.
BPS Bits Per Second, the number of bits which are
sent through the RS-232 interface each second.
Bulletin a text file displayed to the user which
contains news, ideas, tips & tricks or other
more or less interesting information. In some
BBS systems the first menu you see is the
Bulletin menu.
BullShit contents of most messages found in the
INTERNAT EchoMail area.
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C
Carrier to transmit and receive data a modem sends
sounds over the phone line. The Carrier is a
sound of a constant frequency, which tells the
modem on the other end that the connection
exists.
CCITT short for Comité Consultatif International
Télégraphique et Téléphoniquequequeque, an
institute which defines the V-standards.
CD Carrier Detect, pin number 8 on an RS-232
interface. A logical high signal from the
modem means a carrier is present. Often called
DCD (Data Carrier Detect).
Chat, to- to talk with somebody through keyboard and
screen. Normally you press Return twice when
you have said what you want to say to let the
person on the other side know that it's their
turn.
CheckSum the lower byte of the total of all bytes in a
block, used to check that those bytes are
correct. This can be used by the Xmodem
protocol and is not as reliable as CRC
checking.
CLI Command Line Interface, see Shell.
CrashMail One or more messages which have Crash
priority, i.e. should be sent right away, and
straight to the destination node (they are not
routed).
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check, very complicated
calculation performed on a block of data. If
the CRC of one block is the same as that of
another block, it is pretty likely the blocks
are the same too. Used by most transfer
protocols, and is much more reliable than the
Checksum method.
D
Dent, Arthur a rather stupid earthling whose house was
knocked down to make way for a bypass.
DL See DownLoad.
Door a program executed by the BBS while a user is
online.
DoorGame a game program executed by the BBS while a
user is online. Often the users of the BBS can
play games against each other.
Download 1. to Download: to transfer a file from the
BBS to the user.
2. a Download: one or more files which have
been downloaded.
3. the Download: all files in a BBS which the
users can download.
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DTR Data Terminal Ready, pin 20 on an RS-232
interface. By lowering this pin the computer
can tell the modem to disconnect. When DTR is
low most modem don't answer incoming calls.
Duplex full-duplex means two connected computers can
send data at the same time, but in half-duplex
only one of the computers can send at any one
time. BBS systems always work in full-duplex.
DupKiller program which removes duplicate messages from
your message base.
Duplicate an EchoMail message which has been received
more than once. This often occurs when the a
node gets an area from two different sources.
You should take the greatest care not to cause
duplicate messages, and use a DupKiller to
remove such messages if they exist.
E
Echo an EchoMail area.
EchoMail messages in FidoNet that can be read on each
node who wishes to receive the area in which
the message was written (i.e. is connected to
the echo).
EchoMail Backbone FidoNet node who handles some inter-net and
inter-region EchoMail transfers.
Earth mostly harmless.
Electronic Mail messages stored by an electronic medium like a
BBS. Devices like a fax don't store the
messages, so they aren't Electronic Mail
handlers.
Email see Electronic Mail.
ErrorLevel is a value returned by a program to whatever
executed it. Some shells can examine this
value to determine what to do next.
Escape 1. ASCII character 27.
2. A key on the keyboard, usually marked Esc.
3. A sequence of bytes, starting with an
Escape character, which controls the users
terminal.
Event a period of time which has certain flags to
influence the operation of a program like a
mailer. Really just something that happens.
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F
Fido Bulletin Board System which was the first to
do mail transfers from one BBS to another.
FidoNet a world-wide network of BBS systems which
allows mail to be transferred from one BBS to
another, of from one BBS to lots of others.
File Request to use your mailer to ask another mailer to
send one or more specified files. The file
names are given to your mailer. Can be
compared to downloading a file without having
to enter the BBS.
File Transfer sending a file from one computer to another,
using a file transfer protocol.
Flag a switch each user, each menu option and each
message area has. The switch can be on (X) or
off (-). If the flag is on in the menu option
or message area it must also be on in the
users record. There are 4 sets of flags (A-D),
with each 8 flags (1-8).
Flash the best communications program available for
the Atari ST. Distributed by Antic, current
version is 1.6.
Fmail a message which has a file belonging to it.
Can be used to send a message and a file to
one or more specified users at once.
Full-duplex see Duplex.
G
GfA German company which produces a language
called GfA-Basic. It isn't really basic, but a
mixture between Basic, Pascal and a little C.
Very fast, very structured and very easy. GfA
never meet dead-lines.
Graphics Mode one of five different terminal emulations
which the user selects in QuickBBS. To use a
Graphics Mode the communications program the
user is running must also support the terminal
emulation.
Great word often used when speaking about products
from Theo Runia and Jon Webb.
GROUND pin numbers 1 and 7 on an RS-232 interface.
Pin number 1 is PG (Protective Ground) and
ensures both devices have the same voltage
levels. Number 7 is SG (Signal Ground). It has
a logically low signal. All other signal
levels depend on this pin.
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H
Half-duplex See Duplex.
Hayes Company which produce modems. Quite a long
time ago they developed a modem which had a
small instruction set (called the AT set)
built in. Most modern modems also have this
instruction set and are Hayes Compatible.
Hayes, Maddie photo model, private detective and very good-
looking. Can be admired in the TV-series
Moonlighting.
Head Crash what always seems to happen to your harddisk
when you haven't made a backup for six months.
HFL dutch currency, please send lots.
Home Directory the directory containing the QuickBBS system
files (e.g. USERS.BBS). You must either start
QuickBBS from this directory or point to it
with the environment variable QBBS.
Host a node in FidoNet which is 'head' of a
network. It collects mail from all the nodes
in the network and sends it to the hosts of
other networks.
HST High Speed Transfer, a method used by some
modern modems to transfer information at high
speed (up to 14400 bps). Old HST modems were
not reliable, new ones are better. Not
compatible with the V.32(bis) standard.
Hub a node in FidoNet which is used in large
networks to take some of the load off the
hosts shoulders. It acts as a host for a group
of nodes within the network.
I
IFNA International FidoNet Association. Like to
think of themselves as the governing body of
FidoNet (and are, in a way). Though not many
people in FidoNet are actually IFNA members,
their technical standards and policy affect
each node in the IFNA nodelist.
Infocom Company that makes the best ever adventure
games for all sorts of computers. They are
very well known for their high-tech
programming, good plots and extremely good
atmosphere.
Interlink Communications program for the Atari ST which
is second in my top-5 of comms packages. Very
good Ansi graphics, nice bells & whistles, but
too slow and too buggy. Current version 1.89,
available from InterSect.
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J
JEKYLL a transfer protocol which enables you to down
and upload and chat! at the same time. It's
written by Vincent Partington for the Atari.
Jmodem a transfer protocol which is sometimes
slightly faster than Zmodem. Written in 8088
assembler, so it's very difficult to implement
on an ST.
Jon me.
K
Kermit 1. little green frog which attracts female,
fat pigs,
2. old-fashioned file transfer protocol often
used by stupid people and Unix machines.
Kludge one or more lines in an EchoMail message used
by mail utilities. Some kludge lines start
with a ^A code. Well-known ones are AREA which
defines the EchoMail area to which the message
belongs, SEEN-BY to keep track of which nodes
have received the message and PATH to find out
how the message got here.
L
LastRead Pointers set of numbers Quick uses to keep track of
what the last message was a user read in a
certain area. Stored in the file LASTREAD.BBS.
LHarc archiver developed by Yoshi and ported to the
ST by yours truly. It's a bit slower than ARC,
but achieves much better compression results.
Log in, to- 1. to call a BBS.
2. to type in the user name and password.
Log off, to- to tell the BBS you want it to hangup the
phone.
LZH archive created by the LHarc archiver.
M
Mail one or more messages.
Mailer a program which sends mail to other nodes,
receives mail from other nodes and waits for
users to call the BBS.
Menu a screen in the BBS from which users can
choose an option.
Menu Optimiser a feature of QuickBBS which can replace
spaces, carriage returns and line feeds with
VT-52 or Ansi escape sequences to position the
cursor. Speeds up the menus quite a bit at 300
and 1200 baud.
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Message a text written by one user and sent to another
user, or to ALL other users.
Message Base all messages on a BBS. The messages are stored
in the .HDR and .MSG files in the Message
Directory.
MNP a system used by some modems to eliminate line
noise, check data integrity and sometimes
compress the data. There are different
generations of MNP modems. The newer ones do
data compression. All modems are downward
compatible (or should be, at least). Most MNP
modems can communicate with non-MNP modems.
N
NetMail one or more messages which each have a
destination node defined by the user. A
NetMail message is sent to only one other
node. The user must have enough credit to send
NetMail messages.
NetWork 1. the organisation of a whole lot of Bulletin
Boards to enable mail transfer.
2. a group of Bulletin Boards (nodes)
geographically close together. A host is
the head of the network.
Net See NetWork.
NMH National Mail Hour, a time at which all nodes
must be available for receiving mail. In
Zone 2 this is often disregarded, because each
node can agree on a time with the host. I
think Zone 1 still uses this.
Node a Bulletin Board which is part of FidoNet.
Nodes are grouped together into NetWorks.
NodeDiff a file which contains the differences between
last weeks and this weeks NodeList. If you
have last weeks NodeList and this weeks
NodeDiff you can create a new NodeList.
NodeList file containing a description of the current
structure of FidoNet. A new one is published
every week, but because it is so big most
people prefer to receive a NodeDiff file every
week.
Node Number See Address.
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O
Offline 1. a user is offline: Not connected to a BBS
at the moment.
2. a BBS is offline: the BBS is currently not
available to users.
3. a printer is offline: can not receive any
characters to print because the operator is
mucking around with the switches.
Online the opposite of Offline.
Online Archiver feature of QuickBBS which allows users to
extract files from one or more archives and
place them in a temporary one which can be
downloaded. Handy if you only want part of an
archive.
Opus a FidoNet compatible BBS program which runs on
an MS-DOS PC. This BBS is command line
oriented and hardly configurable.
Origin Line A line added to an EchoMail message. It starts
with '* Origin:' and ends with the FidoNet
address of the node in brackets. Whatever is
inbetween can be specified by the SysOp.
P
Packet one or more FidoNet messages ready to be sent
to another node, or just received from another
node.
Pandora 1. Adrian Mole's girlfriend.
1. Fido-ish BBS program written by Jac
Kersing. QuickBBS uses the same message
base format. Pandora is command line
oriented and slightly configurable.
Parity a bit added to each byte transferred over an
RS-232 connection (possibly with modems
inbetween). You can have Even Parity, Odd
Parity or No Parity. With Even Parity the byte
plus extra bit must form an even number. With
Odd Parity they must form an odd number. If
the parity is incorrect an error is reported.
All BBS programs work with No Parity, where no
parity bit is sent/received.
Path 1. directory specification.
2. route of a message before it got to us i.e.
nodes through which the message passed.
Point a user of a BBS who uses a mailer to receive
and send mail instead of logging into the BBS.
A point has an address with an extra number
added, the point number. The format is
zone:net/node.point. The first three numbers
are the same as in the address of the BBS (the
boss). This format is called 4D addressing.
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Poll, to- To call another FidoNet node to see if there
is any mail waiting. Calling another node to
send mail is often also called polling.
Private a private message cannot be read by anyone but
the writer, the receiver and the SysOp. Some
programs cannot handle private EchoMail.
Privilege See Security Level.
Protocol a method of transferring one or more files. By
agreeing on a protocol the transmitting and
receiving programs can make sure that the file
is transferred correctly and sometimes send
information about the file name, size, date
etc. too. Normally the transmitter and
receiver must use exactly the same protocol.
Psychiatrist the person you are going to meet once you have
been running your BBS for a year or so.
Public a public message can be read by anyone who has
access to the message area.
Q
QBBS short for QuickBBS.
QuickBBS unknown.
QuickStart program used to handle all modem control for a
Stand Alone QuickBBS system. Initialises the
modem, answers the phone if it rings, starts
up QuickBBS itself now and then. Also acts as
a terminal and a shell for all the utilities.
Quote part of the message to which the user is
replying. By quoting parts of the message he
can remind the writer what the message was
about.
R
RD Receive Data, pin 3 on the RS-232 interface.
Sometimes called RX. This connection is used
to transfer bytes from the modem to the ST.
Recover, to- 1. what you try to do when you go on holiday
to Jamaica after a brain-crash, approx. 14
months since you started running a BBS.
2. what Zmodem does when it starts
transferring a file which was aborted
before. If a Zmodem transfer fails it will
pick up where it left off the next time you
try.
Reply Link pointer to the message to which this message
is a reply. By using the - and + commands in
the Read Message menu you can see the original
message and replies to this message. QuickBBS
doesn't do this in EchoMail by itself. A
utility is available to create Reply Links in
EchoMail.
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Request see File Request.
RS-232 the serial interface on the back of your ST,
marked with a little phone. The pins on an RS-
232 interface are +3V..+15V when they are
logically low, -3V..-15V when they are
logically high. Recommended voltages are +12V
and -12V.
RTS/CTS Request To Send and Clear To Send, pins 4 and
5 on the RS-232 interface. These are flow
control signals. When the ST wants to send
data it makes RTS high. When the modem is
ready to receive it makes CTS high. It
enables the ST to send at a higher (locked)
baudrate than the modem can handle. Doesn't
work in most TOS versions, and is not really
needed for QuickBBS.
S
SEAlink transfer protocol from System Enhancement
Associates (SEA) based on Xmodem. Instead of
waiting for the other end to acknowledge each
block it keeps on sending, and assumes no news
is good news. If an error occurs it goes back
to the faulty block. This protocol is nearly
as fast as Zmodem! Can also transfer more than
one file at once (batch protocol).
Security Level a number each user has in QuickBBS. Based on
this number you can tell Quick how much time
the user may spend in the BBS each day, allow
him to access certain menu options, message
areas etc.
Seen-By kludge line added to EchoMail messages that
informs the mail utilities which nodes have
received this message.
Shell a utility which allows you to type in commands
on the keyboard instead of clicking on files
with the mouse. Has the useful side-effect
that you can put lots of these commands in a
batch file which can be executed when you're
not there.
Sleep Delay the number of seconds Quick waits before it
disconnects the user when he doesn't type
anything. This is in case the user has fallen
asleep, or in case his own major intestine, in
a desperate attempt to save life and
civilization, leaps straight up through his
neck and throttles his brain. Whatever the
reason, it should keep your BBS available.
Start Bit one or two bits sent before each data byte
over an RS-232 connection to synchronise the
transmitter and the receiver.
Stop Bit same as Start Bit, but now sent after the data
byte. A BBS should use 1 stop bit.
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Synchronous method of connection used by large computer
systems. Instead of sending start and stop
bits the synchronisation info is 'hidden' in
the data byte. There can't be any pauses in
the transmission, otherwise the
synchronisation is lost. A BBS never uses this
method.
SysOp System Operator, the person who makes sure the
BBS is in working order, helps users when they
have problems with the BBS and does about
three million other tasks.
STZip Program ported from tyhe PC PKZIP, STZip
generates and unpack .ZIP files. It is
written/ported to the Atari by Vincent Pomey.
T
TD Transmit Data, pin 2 on an RS-232 interface.
This is used to transmit bytes from the ST to
the modem. Sometimes called TX.
Terminal 1. the computer which is connected to the BBS
via a modem.
2. the communications program the user is
running.
Terminal Emulation a method of controlling the colour of text,
positioning the cursor, clearing the screen
and all other fancy things. This is done by
sending Escape sequences. The BBS and the user
must be using the same Terminal Emulation
(graphics mode).
Tea the most scarce drink in the universe.
The-Box a mailer program which works nicely with
QuickBBS.
Towel an item that each Hitch Hiker should have.
Transfer See File Transfer.
TurboDos a program available from Atari which speeds up
the hard disk by 200% to 500%. You should
install either TurboDos or TOS 1.4 when you
run QuickBBS, otherwise it ain't so Quick.
U
UL see UpLoad.
Upload 1. to Upload: to send a file from the user to
the BBS.
2. an Upload: a file uploaded by a user.
Uppercase what most messages from users are written in
if you have Uppercase Checking switched off.
User 1. one who calls a BBS,
2. ---CENSORED---
User Base 1. all users of a BBS.
2. the file containing information about all
your users, called USERS.BBS.
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UseNet a network of Unix machines which has some
quite interesting messages. UseNet has links
with FidoNet (i.e. some messages from UseNet
can be transferred to FidoNet).
V
V.21 hardware standard defined by the CCITT for
transferring information at 300 bps.
V.22 same as V.21, but now for 1200 bps.
V.22 bis same as V.21, but now for 2400 bps.
V.23 same as V.21, but now for 1200/75 split
baudrate. Not often used for BBS systems.
V.29 same as V.21, but now for 4800 bps.
V.32 same as V.21, but now for 9600 bps.
V.32bis same as V.21, but now for 14400 bps.
VT-52 terminal emulation defined by DEC. Much faster
than Ansi (in fact it's a subset of Ansi X3.64
and VT-100), but doesn't provide as many
possibilities. The screen on an ST can be
controlled using VT-52 escape sequences.
VT-100 another terminal emulation from DEC. This is
nearly the same as Ansi-BBS, but doesn't
support things like colour changes.
W
WaZoo Warp Zillion Opus-to-Opus, one of the
sessions used by modern mailers. A WaZoo
session starts with a YOOHOO packet exchange
and then sends mail or files with SEAlink or
Zmodem.
Windowed Xmodem see Xmodem, Windowed.
Wow! sound often heard when observing a FoReM sysop
who has just logged in to a QuickBBS system.
X
Xfer short for Transfer.
Xmodem an old transfer protocol. Uses either 128 byte
or 1024 byte blocks and either Checksum or CRC
error checking. Slow.
Xmodem-1K the version of Xmodem which uses 1024 byte
blocks. Often incorrectly called Ymodem.
Xmodem, Windowed sort of Xmodem where the transmitter doesn't
wait for the receiver to acknowledge a block.
It assumes that no news is good news. Much
faster than Xmodem.
Xon/Xoff another flow control method. The receiver can
send a ^S code to pause the transmitter, and
continue with a ^Q code. Not usually used in
QuickBBS.
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Y
Yell, to- to call the SysOp for a chat.
Ymodem a sort of Xmodem which can transfer more than
one file at once. Often Xmodem 1K is called
Ymodem, but this is incorrect. Ymodem is
always a batch protocol.
YOOHOO a handshaking protocol used by modern (WaZoo)
mailers. The YOOHOO/2U2 handshake passes such
information as your address, system and
operator name as well as password information.
Z
ZIP name of files generated by PKZip on a PC or
STZip on the Atari series of computers.
Zone a large geographic area in FidoNet. The whole
network is split into three zones, each
covering a continent. Each zone is split up
into regions and nets.
ZoneGate a node in FidoNet which transfers mail from
one zone to another.
ZOO yet another archiver. It's fast, slightly
better at compressing than ARC, but not as
good as LHarc. ST version available.
Zmodem The best transfer protocol available. Very
fast, extremely easy to use and very reliable.
If you've got Zmodem: use it!
Other
0 IQ of an average user.
8-) smiley, turn 90 degrees clockwise.
150 price of a Full Key in Dutch Guilders.
-218 IQ of an average Amiga user.
^ 1. Character used to signify the Control-key.
^C means hold down the control key and
press C.
2. Character used to mark a Control-code.
^C is the character with the ASCII value of
the C character minus 64.
^A ASCII code 1, marks the start of a kludge
line in a message. Also used in QuickBBS menus
to define a menu option as auto-executing.
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APPENDIX B - SYSOP KEYS
Keys available while a user is online:
Help brief list of available SysOp keys.
Clr/Home updates/restores status bar.
Cursor Up increases users time limit by 5 minutes.
Cursor Down decreases users time limit by 5 minutes.
Alt-A change users graphics mode to ASCII.
Alt-C enters chat mode.
Alt-D cycles Display Mode. Shift-Shift-Alt-D restores.
Alt-F edit users flags.
Alt-H hangup: disconnects user directly.
Alt-I show info over the user in the statusbar, nr. of
calls, last date called, phonenumbers etc. etc.
Alt-J jump to DOS.
Alt-L lockout: disconnects, zeroes security level.
Alt-O edit users account.
Alt-P switches printer logging on and off.
Alt-S edit users security level.
Undo clear daily download & ask for new download limit.
Additional keys in chat mode:
Control-C clear the screen.
Control-F switch Funmode on or off
Control-G sound a bell, beep or tune.
Control-L switch the chat log on and off.
Control-U switch the users CapsLock on and off.
Control-V view a file.
Escape exit chat mode.
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APPENDIX C - MENU OPTIONS
In this reference chart optional parameters are enclosed in square
brackets [x] and required parameters in angled brackets <x>.
Type Name Data Line
0 Text Line (not a command)
1 GoTo New Menu <menu name> [parameters]
2 GoSub New Menu <menu name> [parameters]
3 Return from Previous Gosub
4 Clear Stack & GoTo New Menu <menu name> [parameters]
5 Display Text File <1-8 character name>
7 Execute Program <full path+name> [command line]
8 Version Information
9 Log off
10 Display System Usage Graph
11 Yell for Sysop
13 List/Search User Base
14 Display Time/Download Stats
15 Exit with ErrorLevel <errorlevel>
16 Change City
17 Change Password
18 Change Screen Length
19 Toggle Clear Screen
20 Toggle More [Y/n] Prompt
21 Change Graphics Mode
22 Check for Personal Mail [board number] or [ALL]
23 Read Messages <board number>
24 Scan Messages <board number>
25 QuickScan Messages <board number>
27 Write a New Message <board board> [/L] [/T=...]
30 Raw Directory <path to area>
31 Display File List <path to area>
32 Download a File <path to area> [filename]
33 Upload a File <path to area>
34 Show Contents of Archive <path to area>
35 Search for a File by Keyword
37 List New Files [path to area]
38 View Text File <path to area>
39 Display Direct Text File <full path & name>
40 Replace Menu Text (AutoExec) <1-8 character name>
41 Toggle FSE
45 Display Text File with Return <1-8 character name>
57 Change Voice Phone
58 Change Data Phone
80 Online Archiver <path to area>
81 Pump File <+ or -> <full path & name>
82 Select Menu Optimiser
83 File Browser <full path & name>
84 Mark File Menu <path to area>
85 Mail areas lister <group nr.> [menu to jump to]
86 File areas lister <search key> [menu to jump to]
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APPENDIX D - SYSTEM TEXT FILES
These text files are displayed at various points during the
operation of QuickBBS and QuickStart.
NAME DISPLAYED...
BANNER by QuickStart while the BBS is being loaded. ASCII only,
may not contain any control codes.
BROWSER when the user selects [H]elp from the File Browser.
DNLDHRS if the user attempts to download outside download hours.
EDITHELP when the user selects [H]elp from the Message Editor.
FILEMENU when the user selects [H]elp from the File Menu.
GOODBYE just before QuickBBS disconnects.
GRAPHELP when the user selects [H]elp from the Graphics Mode menu.
HOTNEWS displayed after login in the file is newer then the last
time the user called.
LANGUAGE when the user tries to save a message which doesn't pass
the language test.
LOGO before the user types his name. ASCII only.
MAXPAGE if the user attempts to page you more times than allowed.
NEWS just before the system checks for new mail.
NEWUSER1 to a new user after he has verified his name, but before
any questions are asked. ASCII only.
NEWUSER2 after the new user has selected a password.
NEWUSER3 when the new user has filled in all the questions.
NO300 when a call comes in at 300 Bps outside the 300 Bps
hours.
NODELIST when a user selects [H]elp from the NodeList menu.
NOTAVAIL when a user pages you outside the paging hours.
NOTFOUND if the system can't find the user in the User Base, but
before he is asked whether his name is correct.
OARCHELP when the user selects [H]elp from the Online Archiver
main menu.
OARCTYPE when the user selects [H]elp from the Online Archiver
type selection menu (when he chooses between .ARC and
.LZH archives).
OPTIMISE when the user selects [H]elp from the Menu Optimiser
menu.
PAGEABRT if the SysOp aborts a page.
PAGED when you don't respond to a page.
PASSWORD before a new user is asked for a password, and when the
user changes his password.
POSTCHAT displayed after a chat.
PRECHAT displayed before a chat
PRE-UPLD displayed before uploading.
READHELP when the user selects [H]elp from the Read Messages menu.
SCANHELP when the user selects [H]elp from the Scan Messages menu.
SECxxx when a user with level xxx calls (ex. SEC100.ASC)
TOOSLOW if a users baudrate is too slow.
TRASHCAN if the name typed in by the new user conflicts with the
TRASHCAN.CTL file. ASCII only.
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UP-DESC displayed before describing an upload.
UPPER when a user tries to save a message which doesn't pass
the UpperCase check.
USERxxx when user nr. xxx calls (ex. USER001.ASC)
WELCOME after the user has entered his name and password.
XFERHELP when a user selects [H]elp from the File Transfer
Protocol menu.
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APPENDIX E - TEXT FILE CONTROL CODES
can be used in any textfile displayed by QuickBBS.
System Control
Code ASCII Function
^A 001 Pause and wait for the user to press Return.
^B 002 Turn [S]top aborting off.
^C 003 Turn [S]top aborting on.
^D 004 Turn the More [Y/n] prompts off.
^E 005 Turn the More [Y/n] prompts on.
^F 006 User Information code.
^G 007 Sound bell/beep.
^H 008 BackSpace.
^I 009 Tab.
^J 010 LineFeed.
^K 011 System Information code.
^L 012 FormFeed (clear screen).
^M 013 Carriage Return
User Information
Code ASCII Function
^FA 006 065 Users full name.
^FB 006 066 City.
^FC 006 067 Password (use with care!).
^FD 006 068 Data phone.
^FE 006 069 Voice phone.
^FF 006 070 Last date user called.
^FG 006 071 Last time user called.
^FH 006 072 Users A-Flags.
^FI 006 073 Users B-Flags.
^FJ 006 074 Users C-Flags.
^FK 006 075 Users D-Flags.
^FL 006 076 NetMail Credit in cents.
^FM 006 077 Number of messages the user has posted.
^FO 006 079 Users Security Level.
^FP 006 080 Number of times the user has called.
^FQ 006 081 Number of files the user has uploaded.
^FR 006 082 Number of KiloBytes the user has uploaded.
^FS 006 083 Number of files the user has downloaded.
^FT 006 084 Number of KiloBytes the user has downloaded.
^FU 006 085 Number of minutes user has been online today.
^FV 006 086 Length of the users screen.
^FW 006 087 Users first name.
^FX 006 088 Users Graphics Mode.
^FY 006 089 More prompt : ON or OFF.
^FZ 006 090 Screen Clear : ON or OFF.
^F0 006 048 Optimiser : ON or OFF.
^F1 006 049 Number of KiloBytes the user has downloaded today.
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^F2n 006 050 Flag An : ON or OFF.
^F3n 006 051 Flag Bn : ON or OFF.
^F4n 006 052 Flag Cn : ON or OFF.
^F5n 006 053 Flag Dn : ON or OFF.
^F6 006 054 Current Account
^F7 006 055 Full Screen Editor : ON or OFF.
System Information
Code ASCII Function
^KA 011 065 Number of calls to the BBS.
^KB 011 066 Name of the last caller.
^KF 011 070 Number of times you've been paged.
^KG 011 071 Day of the week (i.e. Monday, Tuesday etc.).
^KH 011 072 Number of users in the User Base.
^KI 011 073 Current time in 24 hour format (HH:MM)
^KJ 011 074 Current date, format DD MMM YY (04 Nov 89).
^KK 011 075 Time connected - minutes.
^KL 011 076 Time connected - seconds.
^KM 011 077 Time used - minutes.
^KN 011 078 Time used - seconds.
^KO 011 079 Time remaining - minutes.
^KP 011 080 Time remaining - seconds.
^KQ 011 081 Time limit in minutes.
^KR 011 082 Baud rate.
^KS 011 083 Abbreviated day of week (i.e. Mon, Tue etc.).
^KT 011 084 Download limit in Kb.
^KWx 011 087 Amount of free space on drive 'x'.
^KX 011 088 Amount of free RAM.
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APPENDIX F - .DOR FILE COMMANDS
The data line of menu option type 7 can contain the *E (extended)
command to execute instructions in a .DOR file. The commands are..
ACCOUNT <number> increases, decreases or sets the account
CD <path> changes the current directory to <path>
CL <command> sets the current command line
CLRFLAG <flag> Switches one of the users flags off
CLS clears the screen
COPY <src> <dest> copies file <src> to <dest>
CTIME <number> increases, decreases or sets current time limit
DEL <spec> deletes files matching <spec>
DEXIST <path> checks if a directory exists
DLIMIT increases, decreases or sets download limit
ECHO <text. sends the line <text> to the user
EXEC <program> <cl> executes <program> with command line
EXIT stop executing the current .DOR file and return
FEXIST <file> checks if a file exists
GOTO <label> jump to label (:label in .dor file)
IF <value> <operator> <value> THEN <command>
if true execute <command>
INPUT <type> [<len>] [<"str">]
inputs line of text from user, stored in *TXT
KEY Wait for keypress, stored in *CHR and *ASC
LEVEL <number> Increases, decreases or sets the security level
LOCAL <text> <text> is displayed locally only
LOG <text> writes <text> to the system log file
MENU <option> <data> execute a menu option.
PAUSE Prompt and wait for return
PROMT <text> sends <text> but leaves cursor on same line
READMARKED read MARKED.DAT and read marked messages
REN <old> <new> renames file <old> to <new>
SEND <text> Sends the line <text> to the user
SETFLAG <flag> Switches one of the users flags on
SHOW <file> Displays <file> in the textfile directory
STATUS <on|off> Switches the status bar on or off
SYSTEM <command> send <command> to Craft, Mupfel or Gulam
TIME <number> increase, decrease or set time limit for the
rest of the day
WRITE <type> will write a file depending on <type>, which
can be LASTUSER.LOG, FOREM.DAT or DORINFO1.DEF
The DEL command is the only command which accepts wildcards as
parameters.
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APPENDIX G - VT-52 ESCAPE CODES
Please note that all lowercase characters are Atari-private, and
should not be used in VT-52 Standard mode.
Esc-A Moves the cursor up one line, but not beyond the top of
the screen.
Esc-B Moves the cursor down one line, but not beyond the
bottom of the screen.
Esc-C Moves the cursor right one column, but not beyond the
edge of the screen.
Esc-D Moves the cursor left one column, but not beyond the
edge of the screen.
Esc-E Clears the screen and puts the cursor in the top left
corner. This code is Atari-private!
Esc-H Places the cursor in the top left corner of the screen.
Esc-I Moves the cursor up one line. If the cursor was already
at the top, the screen is scrolled down.
Esc-J Erases the screen starting at the current cursor
position.
Esc-K Clears the screen between the cursor and the end of the
line.
Esc-L Inserts an empty line at the current cursor position.
the cursor is placed in the first column of the new
line, the rest of the screen is scrolled down.
Esc-M Deletes the line at the current cursor position and
scrolls the rest of the screen up. The cursor is moved
to the first column of the line.
Esc-Yyx Moves the cursor to the position defined in the
characters <y> and <x>, of which the ASCII codes must be
incremented by 32 (i.e. Esc-Y-space-space moves the
cursor home).
Esc-bx Sets the foreground text colour to <x>. Only the lower 4
bits of the colour are used, so Esc-b-1 is the same as
Esc-b-A. The number of colours available depends on the
screen 'resolution'.
Esc-cx Same as Esc-bx, but now for the background colour. All
screen clearing is done in this colour.
Esc-d Clears the screen between the cursor position and the
start of the screen.
Esc-e Switches the cursor on.
Esc-f Switches the cursor off.
Esc-j Remembers the cursor position.
Esc-k Restores the cursor position saved with Esc-j. Not
nestable.
Esc-l Erases the current line and puts the cursor on the first
column.
Esc-o Erases the current line between the left of the screen
and the cursor position.
Esc-p Switches to reverse video.
Esc-q Switches reverse video off.
Esc-v Causes the text to wrap over the right hand side of the
screen if a line is longer than 80 characters.
Esc-w Causes the text which exceeds 80 characters to be
discarded.
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APPENDIX H - ANSI-BBS ESCAPE CODES
Due to the structural differences between the screen of a PC and
that of an ST, the Ansi driver in QuickBBS ST has some
'differences'...
» A PC with CGA monitor can display 8 colours for foreground and 8
colours for background, whereas the ST can only display 4 each
on a colour monitor. See the 'change attributes' escape sequence
to see how Quick handles colours.
» A PC can underline, highlight, blink and reverse text. An ST
using BIOS/GEMDOS for output can only use reverse. See the
'change attributes' escape sequence.
» I have not found any way of changing the scroll region X, Y, and
Width for TOS output.
» All escape sequences that QuickBBS ST doesn't know will be
ignored. They will be sent to the user on-line.
The implementation in QuickBBS ST also has some escape sequences
not found in ANSI.SYS (the Ansi driver on a PC), but which are
part of X3.64, or frequently used by Unix machines.
QuickBBS ST recognises and reacts to the following escape
sequences. All characters in <brackets> should be replaced, and
spaces should be removed...
Name : CUU - Cursor Up
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> A
Example : <ESC> [ 5 A
This sequence moves the cursor up <n> lines. If parameter <n> is
omitted, the cursor moves up one line. The cursor will not move
off the screen, nor will the screen scroll down. The cursor
remains on the same column.
Name : CUD - Cursor Down
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> B
Example : <ESC> [ 3 B
CUD is the same as CUU (cursor up), but the cursor is moved down
instead.
Name : CUF - Cursor Forward (right)
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> C
Example : <ESC> [ 8 B
This moves the cursor <n> columns to the right. If the cursor
reaches column 80, it will stay there. The cursor remains on the
same line. If <n> is omitted, the cursor moves one column.
Name : CUB - Cursor Backward (left)
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> D
Example : <ESC> [ 7 D
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Is identical to CUF (cursor forward), except that the cursor is
moved to the left, as far as the left hand side of the screen.
Name : CUP - Cursor Position
Escape : <ESC> [ <y> ; <x> H
Example : <ESC> [ 10 ; 20 H
This escape moves the cursor to location (x,y), where X is between
1 and 80, and Y between 1 and 24. If <y> and <x> are omitted, the
cursor is moved to the top left-hand corner (1,1). The sequences
<ESC> [ <y> ; <x> H
<ESC> [ <y> ; <x> f
<ESC> [ <y> ; <x> j
are identical, but the first is recommended.
Name : SCP - Save Cursor Position
Escape : <ESC> [ s
SCP tells the Ansi driver to note down the current cursor position
for future use. If an RCP is received the cursor will be returned
to this position. The SCP and RCP escapes are not nestable.
Name : RCP - Restore Cursor Position
Escape : <ESC> [ u
RCP places the cursor at the location noted down by SCP.
Name : ED - Erase Display
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> J
Example : <ESC> [ 2 J
ED erases all or part of the screen depending on the parameter <n>.
If this parameter is omitted, it is assumed to be '0'...
<n> = 0 : The screen is erased between the current cursor
location and the lower right corner of the screen,
inclusive. The cursor doesn't move.
<n> = 1 : The screen is erased between the upper left corner
of the screen and the current cursor location,
inclusive. The cursor doesn't move.
<n> = 2 : The whole screen is erased and the cursor is moved
to the upper left corner.
The screen is cleared using the current background colour.
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Name : EL - Erase Line
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> K
Example : <ESC> [ 0 K
All or part of the current line is erased, depending on parameter
<n>. The cursor is never moved by this escape. If <n> is omitted,
it is assumed to be '0'...
<n> = 0 : All characters to the right of the cursor are erased.
<n> = 1 : All characters to the left of the cursor are erased.
<n> = 2 : All characters on the current line are erased.
The line is cleared using the current background colour.
Name : IL - Insert Lines
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> L
Example : <ESC> [ 3 L
IL inserts <n> lines at the current cursor location. The current
line and all lines below it are moved down. Lines at the bottom of
the screen will be lost. If <n> is omitted, one line is inserted.
The cursor doesn't move. The new line will be displayed in the
current background colour.
Name : DL - Delete Lines
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> M
Example : <ESC> [ 9 M
DL deletes <n> lines, starting with the current cursor line. All
lines underneath the line(s) to be deleted will be moved up. New
lines, in the current background colour, will appear at the bottom
of the screen. The cursor doesn't move.
Name : DECSC - DEC Private, Save Cursor Parameters
Escape : <ESC> 7
This is supposed to be a DEC Private escape, but is used on other
systems as well. It saves the current cursor position (like SCP),
but also stores the current text attributes and colours. With
DECRC these parameters can be restored. This is not implemented in
ANSI.SYS!!!
Name : DECRC - DEC Private, Restore Cursor Parameters
Escape : <ESC> 8
DECRC is the opposite of DECSC, and restores the saved cursor
parameters. This is not implemented in ANSI.SYS!!!
Name : RIS - Reset to Initial State
Escape : <ESC> c
This 'resets' the Ansi driver: the colours are set to default
values, all text attributes are switched off and the screen is
cleared. It is the same as doing an SGR 0 followed by ED 2. This
is not implemented in ANSI.SYS!!!
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Name : NEL - Next Line
Escape : <ESC> E
This moves the cursor to the first position on the next line,
scrolling the screen up if necessary. It is effectively the same
as Carriage Return followed by Line Feed, and is not implemented
in ANSI.SYS!!!
Name : SGR - Set Graphics Rendition
Escape : <ESC> [ <n> ; <n> ; ... ; <n> m
Example : <ESC> [ 1 ; 37 m
Now this is the good stuff... With this escape you can control
three things:
» The text foreground colour,
» The text background colour,
» The text attributes.
There can be any number of parameters, separated by ';'
characters. The effect is cumulative. If no parameters are passed,
'0' is assumed. The following parameters are available:
0 Reset colours and attributes
1 Bold (*)
4 Underlined (*)
5 Blink (*)
7 Reverse Video
30 Foreground Black
31 Foreground Red
32 Foreground Green
33 Foreground Yellow
34 Foreground Blue
35 Foreground Magenta
36 Foreground Cyan
37 Foreground White
40 to 47 Background Colours
Attributes marked by (*) are ignored by Quick. When running on a
monochrome monitor the colours are also ignored. On a colour
monitor colour 30 is black (register 0), colour 37 is white
(register 3), and all colours inbetween are alternated Blue
(register 1) and Red (register 2). Of course this depends on your
screen settings, but the above are the QuickBBS defaults. If
foreground and background turn out to be the same, Quick will
adjust the background colour.
Some examples...
Bold, White on Blue : <ESC>[0;1;37;44m
Blink, Red on Yellow : <ESC>[0;5;31;43m
Normal, White on Black : <ESC>[m or <ESC>[0m
Bold, Underlined, Green : <ESC>[0;1;4;32m
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Note that setting - say - Bold does not effect any of the other
attributes, nor the colours. To make sure you've got the right
mode, you could add a '0' at the beginning, but that depends on
how intelligent your Ansi editor is.
You can create your Ansi screens in a number of different ways.
The hardest way is to do it all in a text editor like Tempus or
the capture buffer in Flash. This is lots of hard work, and you
can't get many fancy effects this way.
The most expensive method is to buy a PC and use an editor like
TheDraw. These editors have lots of nice options to do stuff like
animation.
The simplest is to create your screens in a VT-52 editor and
convert them to Ansi using the QANSI program, available from our
Support BBS. You just specify the input VT-52 file, and your Ansi
file is ready to use! The only limitation is: QANSI can't handle
more than one screen at a time.
Perhaps someone has time to write a good VT-52 and Ansi editor for
the ST? It's about time we had something we can work with!
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APPENDIX I - RS-232 PINOUT
On an RS-232 interface a logically low (binary 0) signal is between
+3V and +15V (+12V is recommended). A logically high (binary 1)
signal is between -3V and -15V (-12V recommended). There are two
types of ports (DCE on the ST and DTE on the modem), which
generally ensure that receive and send are inter-connected on
either side.
Most RS-232 ports have 25 pins (pin number 1 should be marked on
the plug). Some PC's use 9-pin 'joystick' connectors for their RS-
232. The pin numbering is different, but the meaning is the same. A
jumper box always comes in handy when trying to connect equipment
using RS-232!
The minimum requirement for QuickBBS is CD, DTR, TD, RD, PG and
GND. For modems of 9600 bps or over you must also use RTS and CTS.
Not all pins are connected on an ST. Available pins are...
Pin Name Description
1 PG Protective Ground, protects your equipment against
current surges, different voltage levels etc.
2 TD Transmit Data. The computer sends data to the modem
on this pin.
3 RD Receive Data. Data sent from the modem to the
computer goes through this pin.
4 RTS Request To Send, goes high when the computer wants
to send data to the modem.
5 CTS Clear To Send (response to RTS), goes high when the
modem is ready to receive data from the computer.
7 GND Ground, all other signals are relative to the
voltage on this pin.
8 CD Carrier Detect is made high by the modem when a user
is online (a connection is in progress).
20 DTR Data Terminal Ready, is made low by QuickBBS when
the modem should terminate the connection.
22 RI RIng, goes high when the modem detects an incoming
call (the phone is ringing).
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APPENDIX J - FSE INTERFACE
The Full Screen Editor is called by QuickBBS when the user wants
to write a message. Before Quick executes the FSE it changes the
current directory to the directory where the FSE program is
located and writes one or two files. The command line of the FSE
contains the current baudrate (0 for local), the number of minutes
the user has left, the number of seconds before the user should be
timed out and the users graphics mode number.
Quick will always write a file called MSGINFO.FSE, which is a plain
ASCII file with 7 lines:
» who the message is from (max. 35 characters),
» who the message is to (max. 35 characters),
» the subject of the message (max. 72 characters),
» the originating FidoNet address,
» the destination FidoNet address,
» an area name (max. 35 characters),
» some message bits.
The to, from and subject lines are checked for validity by Quick.
If the message is a Local or EchoMail message the FidoNet addresses
are 0, otherwise these lines contain the zone, net and node numbers
in the usual format, followed by a space and the name of the node
(max. 35 characters).
The message bits are stored as a string of 8 zeroes and ones (MSB
first), which mean:
Bit Change? Meaning
0 Yes the message is private
1 No the message is a reply
2 No the message is local
3 No the message is EchoMail
4 Yes the message 'to' line may be changed
5 Yes the message 'subject' line may be changed
6 Yes the message has a file attached
7 No reserved
If the message is a reply Quick will create a file called
MSGTEXT.FSE, which contains the text of the original message. It is
unformatted, null terminated and contains linefeeds to mark the
end-of-paragraph. It may also contain kludge lines.
The FSE should add its own quote characters, but please use the
standard quote format (e.g. " XX> " or " > "). This way other
editors can detect them and quoting will not end up in an extreme
mess.
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When the editor returns to the BBS it should exit with an
errorlevel:
ErrorLevel Meaning
0 all went okay, save the message
1 user aborted the message
2 user dropped the carrier
3 user fell asleep
other internal error - Quick will abort the message
If the editor returns with errorlevel 0 it must have written the
two files with new info. MSGTEXT.FSE will contain the message text,
null terminated, LF's to terminate paragraphs. CR's will be ignored
by Quick. The message text may only contain characters 10, 13 and
the range 32 to 127. A null should be used to terminate the
message.
The new MSGINFO.FSE may have lines 2 and 3 changed, and in line 7
only those bits marked with 'change?' above. If line 2 or 3 have
been changed then the corresponding message bits should be set. If
the 'to' field is changed in a local message the FSE should check
the user base to validate the new name.
If either of the two files are not found Quick will abort the
message.
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APPENDIX K - EXTERNAL CHAT INTERFACE
The external chat program is called if...
» the user yells for the SysOp
» the SysOp presses Alt-C to start chatting
Quick changes the current directory to the directory containing the
chat program and executes it with command line
<Yell?> <Baud> <FirstName> <LastName> <Graphics> <Record>
where
<Yell?> is 1 if the user yelled or 0 if the SysOp pressed
Alt-C,
<Baud> is the current baudrate, or 0 in local mode,
<FirstName> is the users first name,
<LastName> is the users last name,
<Graphics> is the users graphics mode number,
<Record> is the users record number in USERS.BBS.
The chat program should page the SysOp if <Yell?> is 1 etc.
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APPENDIX L - AVAILABLE UTILITIES
There are already quite a lot of utilities available for QuickBBS
ST. Most of them can be downloaded from our Support BBS. Some
utilities require a batch file setup. The ones supplied with
QuickBBS aren't listed here.
Utilities
» COMPOSER can be used to create yelltunes. Runs in high resolution
only and needs GfA-Basic 2.0. Provided as source code.
» FSU can be used to scan your file areas for missing files and/or
descriptions.
» WOWSER can extract text files from archives and reads them, wrks
a bit like the internal browser.
» AMAIL can generate .QWK mail packets for use with off-line
editors. Very power- and usefull, it's shareware
» FIBU compiles your FILES.BBS file descriptions into one big file.
» LAST10 makes charts in ASCII, VTM and VTC graphics modes of the
last 10 callers.
» LED is an offline message editor in a Gem environment (i.e. with
windows etc). Very nice indeed!
» QANSI converts VT-52 screens to Ansi graphics. Supports limited
animation but can only handle one screen at a time.
» STICK (FidoNet), used to send and receive files to and from other
FidoNet nodes. It automatically sends newest versions,
descriptions etc.
» TOP10 makes charts in ASCII, VTM and VTC graphics modes of the
top 10 uploaders, downloaders, message writers and callers.
DoorGames
Because Quick can run Pandora and FoReM DoorGames you have quite a
choice in this department too. A small selection...
» Arcade is a collection of simple games like hang man and tic-tac-
toe (noughts & crosses).
» Dungeons & Dragons should ring a bell? In this game the user
plays against your ST. He must search through dungeons collecting
treasures & fighting monsters. Very nice VT-52 graphics!
» Galactic Empire is a sort of Space Empire Elite, but doesn't play
as well.
» Space Empire Elite is an old favourite of mine. Users battle
other users trying to build a large empire. You set a maximum
number of turns per day. There are planets to be bought and fed,
troops to be payed, espionage to be done etc. etc. Very
addictive.
» Space Trader Elite is another space game which is played on a
map. You can travel from planet to planet, buy and sell goods,
attack other users and so on. Not as competitive as Space Empire
though.
» ST Nationals concerns road racing. You can race against other
users and spend your winnings on new or better parts for your
car.
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Others
» QSTRUCT contains all the QuickBBS ST file structures.
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APPENDIX M - ERRORLEVELS & PARAMETERS
QuickBBS exits with different ErrorLevels when NetMail or EchoMail
is entered, when a system error occurs etc...
Errorlevel Meaning
0 Normal Exit
1 Normal Exit
2 Setup error
3 Carrier Dropped
4 NetMail written
5 EchoMail written
other Menu option errorlevel (type 15)
By checking for errorlevels 4 and 5 you can run Scan and Pack
directly after QuickBBS to export any mail which was just written.
A few parameters can be passed on the command line too...
Parameter Meaning
-B300 User online, 300 bps
-B1200 User online, 1200 bps
-B2400 User online, 2400 bps
-B4800 User online, 4800 bps
-B9600 User online, 9600 bps
-B14400 User online, 14400 Bps
-B19200 User online, 19200 bps
-L Operate in Local Mode
-R Re-login after exit-with-errorlevel
-S Simulate: don't use fast screen routines locally
-N Disable statusbar and show mouse. Should be used when
running MultiTos.
As you can see, when started from a batch file (with a mailer)
Quick can operate at speeds up to 19200 bps. With the -R parameter
you don't need to select speed or local mode.
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APPENDIX N - EXAMPLE BATCH FILES
The batch files listed here are for the PCommand shell. This shell
has a few bugs in the batch file handling department. The batch
files shouldn't be too big (no larger than 5 or 6 Kb), and it seems
like calling one batch file from another causes problems. All
commands are in uppercase, the parameters are in lowercase (for
clarity, PCommand doesn't care). The comments in brackets should
not be typed in.
Running QuickBBS with QuickStart
ECHO off
REM ==========
REM QuickBBS ST + QuickStart example batch file. To use this one
REM you must rename QSTART.OVL to QSTART.PRG.
REM ==========
:start (jump here to rerun QuickStart)
CLS
ECHO Loading QuickStart
CD \qbbs (change to right directory)
qstart (run QuickStart)
CLS
ECHO QuickStart exit with ErrorLevel %:e
REM Check errorlevel returned by QuickStart...
IF ERRORLEVEL 192 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 192? 19200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 144 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 144? 14400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 96 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 96? 9600 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 48 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 48? 4800 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 24 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 24? 2400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 12 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 12? 1200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 3? 300 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO errorend (level 2: error!)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO local (level 1: local)
GOTO end (level 0: offline)
REM ==========
:local (jump here to login locally)
CLS
CD \qbbs (go to right directory)
quickbbs -L (run QuickBBS in local mode)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO afterquick (exit with errorlevel?)
GOTO start (nope, rerun QuickStart)
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REM ==========
:qbbs (jump here for xxx bps users)
CLS
ECHO Starting up QuickBBS at %:e00 bps.
CD \qbbs (go to right directory)
quickbbs -B%:e00 (run QuickBBS at 300 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO afterquick (exit with errorlevel?)
GOTO start (no, back to QuickStart)
REM ==========
:end (jump here to bring board offline)
CLS
ECHO @3 18 - QuickBBS is Offline -
ECHO .
CD \QBBS
EXIT (out of batch file)
REM ==========
:errorend (jump here if error occurs)
BELL (sound the bell)
CLS
ECHO @3 18 - QuickStart Error
ECHO .
CD \qbbs
BELL
EXIT (out out out)
REM ==========
REM DoorGames etc. here...
REM ==========
:afterquick
REM Check what errorlevel was returned by Quick. Note that the
REM 'if errorlevel 6' bit actually means 'if errorlevel >= 6'
IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO dosgate (level 7: remote shell)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO starwars (level 6: play a game)
GOTO relogin (should never get here)
REM ==========
:relogin (rerun Quick with user still online)
CLS
ECHO Restarting QuickBBS.
CD \qbbs
quickbbs -R (rerun Quick, -R means Relogin)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO aferquick (another exit-with-errorlevel?)
GOTO start (no, back to QuickStart)
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REM ==========
:dosgate (jump here for remote shell)
CLS
ECHO Remote Dosgate in operation...
CD \qbbs
CTTY AUX (redirect PCommand to modem)
cdwatch ON (monitor carrier, reset if lost)
ECHO QuickBBS DOSGATE
ECHO ================
ECHO Type 'EXIT' to return to QuickBBS.
INPUT (interactive commands)
cdwatch OFF (carrier watching off)
CTTY CON (redirect back to console)
ECHO Back from Dosgate
GOTO relogin (rerun QuickBBS)
REM ==========
:starwars (Jump here to play game)
CLS
ECHO Starting DoorGame: StarWars
CD \qbbs\starwars
starwars (start up program)
GOTO relogin (rerun QuickBBS)
REM =======
REM The End
REM =======
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Running QuickBBS with The-Box or Binkley
ECHO off
REM ==========
REM QuickBBS ST + The-Box example batch file.
REM ==========
:start (jump here to rerun The-Box)
CLS
ECHO Loading The-Box
CD \qbbs (change to right directory)
tb unattended (run The-Box in mailer mode)
CLS
ECHO The-Box exit with ErrorLevel %:e
REM Check errorlevel returned by The-Box...
REM Use f10 to login locally. The levels for import/export depend
REM on your TB.EVT configuration file.
IF ERRORLEVEL 100 GOTO local (level 100: local)
IF ERRORLEVEL 192 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 192? 19200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 144 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 144? 14400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 96 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 96? 9600 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 48 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 48? 4800 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 24 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 24? 2400 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 12 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 12? 1200 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 9 GOTO import (level 9: received mail)
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO export (level 4: pack mail)
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO qbbs (errorlevel 3? 300 bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO errorend (level 1: error!)
GOTO end (level 0: offline)
REM ==========
:local (jump here to login locally)
CLS
CD \qbbs (go to right directory)
quickbbs -L (run QuickBBS in local mode)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO afterquick (exit with errorlevel?)
GOTO start (nope, rerun The-Box)
REM ==========
:qbbs (jump here for xxx bps users)
CLS
ECHO Starting up QuickBBS at %:e00 bps.
CD \qbbs (go to right directory)
quickbbs -%:e300 (run QuickBBS at xx bps)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO afterquick (exit with errorlevel?)
GOTO start (no, back to The-Box)
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REM ==========
:end (jump here to bring board offline)
CLS
ECHO @3 18 - QuickBBS is Offline -
ECHO .
CD \QBBS
EXIT (out of batch file)
REM ==========
:errorend (jump here if error occurs)
BELL (sound the bell)
CLS
ECHO @3 18 - The-Box Error -
ECHO .
CD \qbbs
BELL
EXIT (out out out)
REM ==========
REM DoorGames etc. here...
REM ==========
:afterquick
REM Check what errorlevel was returned by Quick. Note that the
REM 'if errorlevel 6' bit actually means 'if errorlevel >= 6'
IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO dosgate (level 7: remote shell)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO starwars (level 6: play a game)
GOTO relogin (should never get here)
REM ==========
:relogin (rerun Quick with user still online)
CLS
ECHO Restarting QuickBBS.
CD \qbbs
quickbbs -R (rerun Quick, -R means Relogin)
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO aferquick (another exit-with-errorlevel?)
GOTO start (no, back to The-Box)
REM ==========
:dosgate (jump here for remote shell)
CLS
ECHO Remote Dosgate in operation...
CD \qbbs
CTTY AUX (redirect PCommand to modem)
cdwatch ON (monitor carrier, reset if lost)
ECHO QuickBBS DOSGATE
ECHO ================
ECHO Type 'EXIT' to return to QuickBBS.
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INPUT (interactive commands)
cdwatch OFF (carrier watching off)
CTTY CON (redirect back to console)
ECHO Back from Dosgate
GOTO relogin (rerun QuickBBS)
REM ==========
:starwars (Jump here to play game)
CLS
ECHO Starting DoorGame: StarWars
CD \qbbs\starwars
starwars (start up program)
GOTO relogin (rerun QuickBBS)
REM ==========
:import (jump here to import received mail)
CLS
CD \qbbs
ECHO Mail received, starting Import.
ECHO #
import (run Import)
GOTO start (back to The-Box)
REM ==========
:export (jump here to pack outbound mail)
CD \qbbs
CLS
ECHO Scanning echomail...
ECHO #
scan -p (now scan EchoMail)
CLS
ECHO Scanning NetMail...
ECHO #
pack (then scan NetMail)
GOTO start (back to The-Box)
REM =======
REM The End
REM =======
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APPENDIX O - BUG REPORT FORM
To be used if you discover a bug in QuickBBS ST or one of the
provided utilities.
If you have problems please make sure...
» that you have read the documentation properly,
» that your configuration is right,
» that your system date is correct,
» that you have installed 4KBUF in your Auto folder,
» that you have the latest version of the program.
Then remove all programs from your Auto folder (except 4KBUF) and
all accessories, reboot and try again.
If it still goes wrong, fill in the bug report form below and send
it (as a message or as a file) to our Support BBS. Please tell us
as much as you can about the problem, and if possible describe how
we can reproduce it. If you're having trouble with terminal
emulation or during file transfers, include the name of the program
'on the other end' (e.g. Flash, Interlink, Procomm etc.). Thank
you!
Your name _______________________________________________
Key serial number _______________________________________________
BBS name _______________________________________________
BBS phone number _______________________________________________
FidoNet address _______________________________________________
System Atari _______ ST ______________________________
_______________________________________ Monitor
______________________________________ Harddisk
_________________________________________ Modem
TOS version ___________________________________
___________________________________ Kb RAM free
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Auto folder _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Accessories _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Program _______________________________________________
Version _______________________________________________
Description etc. :
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