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─────────────────────────────────────────────
The Wall v1.01
Copyright 1995-1996 Legacy Software Creations
Designed and Programmed by Ryan Thompson
All Rights Reserved
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Distributed with the help of
International Digital Communications
(306)384-7685 (306)384-7682 (306)384-7680
Three numbers to access all five lines!
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan CANADA
─────────────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
a. Table of Contents
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
i) What is The Wall?
ii) Specific Features
iii) Requirements
iv) Included Files
v) Maximus Auto-Install
vi) Generic BBS Install
vii) SETUP.EXE Detailed Help
viii) Multi-node Information
ix) Obtaining New Releases
x) Contacting information
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
i) WHAT IS THE WALL?
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The Wall is a convenient place for users of your bulletin board
service (BBS) to chat freely amongst themselves. Many users who would
not dare touch a message menu will gladly opt to write their thoughts
on The Wall. It has been found to be very easy to get along with by
novice and expert users alike.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ii) SPECIFIC FEATURES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
* Advanced ANSI (text graphics) support - animated menus, etc.
No ANSI.SYS is required to view ANSI locally.
* Stream-lined configuration program complete with online help
to make setup changes easier than ever
* Intelligent BBS searching option allows Maximus SysOps the
comfort of having their BBS information PRE-INSTALLED!
$ High level RIPScrip graphics support
* Support for locked baud rates of up to 115200 BPS
* Support for COM ports 1 through 8, as well as local only settings
* Very fast operation, quick responses, quick display
$ COMPLETE control of who may access The Wall. SysOps can lock
individual users out of The Wall for a specific amount of days,
as well as revoking a ban before it expires.
* SysOps may 'trim' The Wall to a specified number of the NEWEST
lines. This prevents The Wall from getting 'stale' by users
having to wade through VERY OLD messages. This option keeps the
threads fresh, without having to erase the ENTIRE file, as many
of the competitors require.
* SysOps may remove individual messages from The Wall. This
allows full CENSORING of your users! Register today and support
your local communist party!
$ SysOps may ALTER the 'who from' line of any message. With
this, you can manipulate who wrote what. For the game-playing
SysOps out there, this can REALLY make your users wonder what
is going on.
$ Registered SysOps can have the above mentioned 'trimming'
process done ON THE SPOT after each post. This will ensure that
The Wall STAYS at your desired length, without requiring constant
monitoring.
$ Support for over 250 concurrent nodes. No matter how busy your
BBS is, users will ALWAYS be able to access The Wall.
* Users may insert colours in their messages. Much more creativity
is allowed!
* Messages may be one to ten lines in length. Many 'one liner'
type programs are on the market, and many 'lotsa liner' programs
as well.
$ Highly intelligent profanity filter. The Wall will promptly
boot any user who enters a swear word OUT of the program.
* Support for DORINFO1.DEF, DOOR.SYS and LASTUS??.BBS
$ Removal of all annoying NAG screens and delays
($) Denotes features available only after registering.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
iii) REQUIREMENTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The Wall requires the following hardware and/or software:
* 80k of FREE conventional memory
* Approximately 200k of free hard drive space
* A revision 5 or higher FOSSIL driver on COM
port 1-8 ONLY if you wish to have remote users
on The Wall
* Remote users must have an ANSI terminal
* One of DORINFO1.DEF, DOOR.SYS, LASTUS??.BBS or CHAIN.TXT
must be correctly supported by your BBS to allow
for remote users.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
iv) INCLUDED FILES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The following files should be present in the distribution archive:
WALL.EXE Main executable
WALL.DOC Documentation (This file)
WALL.ANS SysOp-Alterable ANSI main menu
SETUP.EXE Integrated configuration program
REGISTER.FRM Registration form
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
v) MAXIMUS INSTALLATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If you are a Maximus SysOp, installing The Wall couldn't POSSIBLY be
simpler! The Wall is now able to find your existing copy of Maximus
and automate the installation process! Here's how:
1) Run SETUP.EXE
2) Select 'YES' when asked to create a new configuration
The Wall will create the file WALL.BAT in the current directory. It
will then update your MENUS.CTL file. Please note, The Wall will
save your current MENUS.CTL in the event that you wish to reverse the
changes it has made.
* Note: For this option to work, SETUP.EXE must be able to find
a copy of Maximus! You must either have the MAXIMUS=
environment variable set (required for Maximus 3.0), or
have Maximus situated in the standard x:\MAX\ directory
of your drive. If you cannot meet either requirement,
you may specify a pathname on the command line when you
run SETUP.EXE. ie:
C:\> SETUP C:\BBS\MAX\LINE1\
If you have multiple copies of Maximus installed, you may also wish
to take advantage of the command line option to force The Wall to
update a particular installation.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
vi) GENERIC BBS INSTALLATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The following procedure applies to SysOps of non-Maximus BBSes. While
The Wall supports Maximus directly, full functionality has been pre-
served for all other BBS types. Therefore, this installation should
not be any more difficult than any other door file installation.
1) Run SETUP.EXE: Refer to the SETUP.EXE configuration section
later in this manual for help with the options themselves. Be
sure you change the BBS name and SysOp name to reflect those
of your system. In addition, you will also need to specify a
COM port that The Wall will use to address your modem.
2) Create a batch file to run The Wall from your BBS.
4) Change your BBS configuration to properly shell to the batch
file you have created. Consult your software's manual if
necessary.
That's it! Of course, you should test The Wall locally, as well as
with remote users online to be sure your setup is working correctly.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
vii) CONFIGURATION WITH SETUP.EXE
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The SETUP utility was created in the hope that documentation such as
this would never need be read by SysOps. However, it is included as
a more complete companion to SETUP's already adequate descriptions.
────────────
SysOp's Name
The name of the SysOp belongs in this field. Since is displayed
to the users when The Wall exits, you should edit it to reflect
what you want them to see. If you own a registered copy of The
Wall, you will not have the ability to change this field field,
because your registration information is built in to the prog-
ram itself.
────────
BBS Name
The name of your BBS is also displayed when The Wall exits. Reg-
istered users of The Wall do not have the ability to change
this field. In the event that you have changed BBS names,
please contact the author and you will be sent a replacement.
-> Refer to "Contacting Information" for author's addresses
────────
BBS Path
The path you specify in this field tells The Wall where to look
for your drop files. You should generally have this set to the
root directory of your BBS installation.
────────────────
Default COM port
This option is of particular use to SysOps only running one
line. It defines the default modem port that will be accessed
if none is given on the command line. If you are using more
than one COM port on your BBS, however, you should refer to the
MULTINODE OPERATION section for details on setup.
────────
BBS Path
Your BBS path MUST reflect the FULL directory where all of your
BBSes door files are created, (such as DORINFO1.DEF, DOOR.SYS
or LASTUS??.BBS).
───────────
Status Line
Several options for status line display are implemented. SETUP
allows you to toggle both LOCAL and REMOTE status lines. While
they will NEVER be displayed to a remote caller, you can con-
trol when they are displayed to YOU locally. Local status lines
are only displayed when no modem connection is present. Remote
status lines are only displayed when there is a remote caller
on-line. Turning both toggles off causes no status lines to
ever be displayed.
─────
Snoop
This feature allows you to control the display of text on the
LOCAL screen. If Snoop is ON, you will be able to see
everything a user does on your screen as it happens. If Snoop
is OFF, nothing will be displayed to YOU, but the remote user
will be able to operate normally. Note that this does not
affect LOCAL ONLY sessions. The possible uses for an OFF
setting are twofold. Firstly, on slow machines, displaying the
ANSI files and the rest of the text can take time, slowing down
the display slightly for the remote user. If you spend very
little time watching your users, you may want to take advantage
of this very small boost in speed. Secondly, in some
multitasking situations, output can be interpreted incorrectly
causing 'garbage' or 'bleeding' on your desktop. Displaying no
text at all seems the safest way around the problem.
──────────────
Drop File Type
Choosing the correct door file type is critical to successfully
running The Wall. Many BBSes are capable of producing more
than one type of drop file; in this case, it is up to you which
one to use. The Wall supports three door types, as follows:
DORINFO1.DEF - This is the standard RBBS format drop file sup-
ported by many BBS types. For the 'multinode'
DORINFO configuration, refer to the next option.
DORINFO?.DEF - This is to be used for BBSes which use the multi
node version of DORINFO.DEF. The ? is replaced
with the current node number.
CHAIN.TXT - The WWIV BBS package uses this format.
DOOR.SYS - Also popular, DOOR.SYS is predominantly used by
older BBS packages, but is supported by nearly
all types.
LASTUS??.BBS - LASTUSER.BBS, or LASTUS##.BBS with ## as the
node number of the user are both supported.
These are generated by all versions of Maximus.
The Wall can interpret both Maximus 2.x and 3.x
formats.
**If you are using the ## node number format,
refer to "MULTINODE OPERATION"
──────────────
Time-out Limit
This value is expressed in seconds, and refers to the amount of
time that The Wall will wait for an inactive user to make a
keystroke. If no key is pressed for this amount of time, The
Wall will report a timeout and return to the BBS, without
hanging up on the user.
──────────────────────
Local Inactive Timeout
If you do not want to be restricted to a set time of inactivity
while in a local session, you should toggle this option OFF.
In sessions where no remote user is online, the inactivity
timeout will NOT be in effect. Therefore, if you are concerned
that you or someone else may accidentally leave The Wall
running and unattended, you should leave this option ON for
maximum security.
────────────────
Maximum Messages ($)
Registered users may set this value to the amount of user
messages they wish to keep on The Wall at a time. In essence,
this handles trimming AUTOMATICALLY, allowing The Wall to run
virtually maintenance-free. The OLDEST lines will be deleted
as NEW lines are posted. Eg:
You have set Maximum Messages to 20, and there are currently
20 posts on The Wall. When a user enters a new post, the
OLDEST post (ie at the top of the list) will be removed,
keeping the total to 20 messages.
Note: If you do not wish The Wall to preform any automatic
trimming, set Maximum Messages to 0.
────────────────
Profanity Filter ($)
Registered SysOps can enjoy the freedom of a much cleaner Wall.
If this feature is turned ON, The Wall will look closely at
what text the user wrote, and if ANY profane language was
found, he or she will be swiftly booted from The Wall.
Advanced word detection is used, so simple case differences,
spacing, and punctuation are all ignored. If the word 'WINDOWS'
was a swear, The Wall would find:
WIN DOWS, W1ND0WS, WIN, DO! W, SEE!, and countless
other combinations along the same thought patterns.
Even with this option turned ON, you should still make an effort
to keep an eye on the content if desired. The English language
has many, many different meanings for its many words. Nearly any
phrase can be put in a different context to insinuate a profane
remark. Full artificial intelligence is marginally beyond the
scope of this simple program. :-)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
viii) MULTINODE OPERATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The Wall is fully multi-node aware. This essentially means that it is
intelligent enough to know that someone else is currently using the
program, and should not try to interfere. Users who try and access
The Wall while someone else is currently inside will be told to wait,
and be returned to the BBS.
Registered users are able to run multiple copies of The Wall, thereby
allowing multiple users to access it at one time.
If you are running more than one node, especially if you are using
Maximus' LASTUS##.BBS specification, you must pass WALL.EXE the
current task number on the command line. For example, node 2 would
require:
WALL.EXE 2
If no node is specified, multi-node detection will still occur, but
The Wall will default to LASTUSER.BBS, not LASTUS##.BBS.
The Wall will also accept a COM port via the command line, in the
event that you are running several modems on the same machine, and
require different COM ports to be used. For example, if you are
running The Wall on node 2 with a modem on COM4, specify:
WALL.EXE 2 4
Please note that the node number must be FIRST, the COM port must be
LAST. You may only specify a com port if you specify a node number.
This format was intentionally kept simple to allow a small number of
limited BBS packages the ability to use The Wall properly.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ix) OBTAINING NEW RELEASES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The newest version of The Wall can be obtained by any of the following
methods.
Internet: Send an E-mail message to legacy@eagle.wbm.ca with the
subject line 'GRAB WALL', and it will be automatically sent
to your return address.
Internet: Get the net! Check out the Maximus home page at
http://oeonline.com/~garyg
or the FTP site at
ftp.oeonline.com/pub/maximus
FidoNet: File request WALL from 1:140/223
MaxFDN: The Wall is also on MaxFDN! Check it out at a download
site near you! Questions about MaxFDN should be sent to
garyg@oeonline.com, or NetMail'd to 1:2410/400.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ix) CONTACTING INFORMATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Ryan Thompson (The Author) may be reached by the following methods.
E-Mail, NetMail or a BBS call are the preferred methods, as replies
tend to come back very quickly.
Internet E-Mail: legacy@eagle.wbm.ca
FidoNet E-Mail: 1:140/223.0 To: "Legacy Software"
Author BBS: (306)384-7685 (28.8kbps) Saskatoon, SK CANADA
(306)384-7682 (14.4kbps)
(306)384-7680 (14.4kbps)
Legacy files available immediately
Snail Mail: Legacy Software Creations
P.O. Box 7335
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
CANADA S7K 4J2