Fritz: All Fritz/All Fritz.zip/All Fritz/FILES/COMMADIO/BBSLIST.LZH/BBSINFO.LST

File List | 1988-07-18 | 16KB | 319 lines

                 Hints, Tips and Etiquette for BBSing

                           INTRODUCTION

My name is Karl Schneider.  I am the sysop of a small BBS in Tampa
called Town n Country BBS.  Since starting up the board, I have
noticed that some callers, especially those unfamiliar with the
Wildcat system, sometimes do not derive maximum use of their allotted
time on the system.  The purpose of this paper is to point out some of
the not-so-obvious features of the system, and also to present some
general pointers which will help users on all bulletin board systems
as well.

                        USING BULLETIN BOARDS

Regardless of the software employed on a BBS, there are a few
guidelines which will help you to get the most bang for your buck, or
maybe 'the most use of your valuable minutes on-line'!  Here are some
suggestions which will help you use your time more efficiently and
keep you in the good graces of the sysops!

The following is an excellent piece by Mel North, and it is included
here by permission.


==================
COMPUTER ETIQUETTE
==================
   by Mel North

The following are a few points of general BBS etiquette. If you wish to
stay welcome on whatever system you happen to call, it would be to your
advantage to observe these few rules. (SYSOPS - Feel free to download this &
display it on your BBS)


1. Don't habitually hang up on a system. Every SYSOP is aware that accidental
disconnections happen once in a while but we tend to get annoyed with people
who hang up every single time they call because they are either too lazy to
terminate properly or they labor under the mistaken assumption that the 10
seconds they save online is going to significantly alter their phone bill.
"Call-waiting" is not an acceptable excuse for long. If you have it and intend
to use the line to call BBS systems, you should either have it disconnected or
find some other way to circumvent it.


2. Don't do dumb things like leave yourself a message that says "Just testing
to see if this thing works". Where do you think all those other messages came
from if it didn't work? Also, don't leave whiney messages that say "Please
leave me a message". If ever there was a person to ignore, it's the one who
begs someone to leave him a message. If you want to get messages, start by
reading the ones that are already online and getting involved in the
conversations that exist.


3. Don't use the CHAT or PAGE command unless you really have some
clear cut notion of what you want to say and why. Almost any SYSOP is more
than happy to answer questions or offer help concerning his system.
Unfortunately, because about 85% of the people who call want to CHAT and about
99% of those people have absolutely nothing to say besides "How old are you?"
or something equally irrelevent, fewer SYSOPS even bother answering their pages
every day.


4. When you are offered a place to leave comments when exiting a system, don't
try to use this area to ask the SYSOP questions. It is very rude to the other
callers to expect the SYSOP to carry on a half visible conversation with
someone. If you have a question or statement to make and expect the SYSOP to
respond to it, it should always be made in the section where all the other
messages are kept. This allows the SYSOP to help many people with the same
problem with the least amount of effort on his part.


5. Before you log on with your favorite pseuydonym, make sure that handles are
allowed. Most SYSOPs don't want people using handles on their systems. There
is not enough room for them, they get sill games of one-upmanship started, it
is much nicer to deal with a person on a personal basis, and last but not
least, everyone should be willing to take full responsibility for his actions
or comments instead of slinging mud from behind a phoney name. Also when
signing on, why not sign on just like you would introduce yourself in your own
society? How many of you usually introduce yourselves as JOE W SMUTZ the 3RD
OR 4TH?


6. Take the time to log on properly. There is no such place as RIV, HB, ANA or
any of a thousand other abbreviations people use instead of their proper city.
You may think that everyone knows what RIV is supposed to mean, but every BBS
has people calling from all around the country and I assure you that someone
from PODUNK, IOWA has no idea what you're talking about.


7. Don't go out of your way to make rude comments like "GEE, This system is
slow". Every BBS is a tradeoff of features. You can generally assume
that if someone is running a particular brand of software, either he likes
it or he'll decide to find another system he likes better. It does nobody any
good when you make comments about something that you perceive to be a flaw if
it is running the way the SYSOP wants it to. Constructive criticism is
somewhat more welcome. If you have an alternative method that seems to make
good sense, then run it up the flagpole.


8. When leaving messages, ask yourself whether it is necessary to make
it private. Unless there is some particular reason that everyone shouldn't
know what you're saying, don't make it private. We don't call them public
bulletin boards for nothing, folks. It's very irritating to other callers when
there are huge blank spots in the messages that they can't read and it stifles
interaction between callers.


9. If your favorite BBS has a time limit, observe it. If it doesn't, set a
limit for yourself and abide by it instead. Don't tie up a system as a new user
and run right to the other numbers list. There is probably very little that's
more annoying to any SYSOP than to have his board completely passed over by you
on your way to another board.


10. Have the common courtesy to pay attention to what passes in front of your
face. When a BBS displays your name and asks "IS THIS YOU?", don't say yes
when you can see perfectly well that is it misspelled. Also, don't start
asking questions about simple operation of a system until you have thoroughly
read all of the instructions that are available to you. I assure you that it
isn't any fun to answer a question for the thousandth time when the answer is
prominently displayed in the system bulletins or instructions. Use some common
sense when you ask your questions.


11. Don't be personally abusive. It doesn't matter whether you like a SYSOP or
 think he's a jerk. The fact remains that he has a large investment in making
his computer available, usually out of the goodness of his heart. If you don't
 like a SYSOP or his system, just remember that you can change the channel any
time you want. Besides, whether you are aware of it or not, if you make
yourself enough of an annoyance to a SYSOP, he can take the time to trace you
 down and make your life or that of your parents miserable.


12. Keep firmly in mind that you are a guest on any BBS you happen to call.
 Don't think of logging on as one of your basic human rights. Every person
that has ever put a computer system online for the use of other people has
spent a lot of time and money to do so. While he doesn't expect non-stop pats
on the back, it seems reasonable that he should be able to expect fair
treatment from his callers. This includes following any of the rules for
system use he has laid out without grumping about it. Every SYSOP has his own
idea of how he wants his system to be run. It is really none of your business
why he wants to run it the way he does. Your business is to either abide by
what he says, or call some other BBS where you feel that you can obey the
rules.
>>>   end of Mel's article.  Now here's my spiel:


                              FIRST CALL

1.  When you log onto a system for the first time, READ the Introductory
information!  The best way to make a poor first impression on a sysop is
to carelessly or incorrectly supply requested information, skip or
ignore the New User's information (which 99.9% of all boards supply)
then run to the Files section only to discover you don't have access yet,
then back to the beginning and leave a plaintive question, "Why can't I
download files??"

2.  If there is some legitimate reason you cannot supply some requested
information, such as a telephone number, etc., have the courtesy to leave
the sysop a note explaining it.  DON'T supply incorrect information!  When
we see a new user entering a phone number like 999-999-9999 or something
equally and obviously bogus, it's very annoying. (and you probably won't
get access to the board until you explain it, anyway)

3.  If you want to make some brownie points with the sysop, you might
consider leaving him or her a short message telling a bit about yourself,
how you got the board's number, etc.  Don't however, start off this
relationship by asking questions which are answered in the opening
bulletins, newsletters, etc.!


                      NOW THAT YOU'RE ON BOARD
                          (no pun intended)

1.  Policies about uploading and downloading files vary WIDELY from board
to board.  If there is some published minimum upload requirement, then
consider it just that: a requirement!  If you can't manage to hold up your
end to the extent requested, don't complain about it.  After all, files you
have downloaded most likely were uploaded by another user.  Fair is fair.
Even if there are no limits, don't be a file-hog.  There is simply no
excuse for someone downloading 15, 20 or more files and sending little or
nothing to the board.

2.  There is nothing written in stone saying that you must upload only
PROGRAMS!  Some of the most interesting files are comprised of such diverse
things as personal stories, technical information articles, recipes for
gourmet food, and a wealth of other subjects.  Nearly everyone has the
ability to put some thoughts or information into a file that will interest
someone, and it's good practice on your favorite word processor, too!

3.  Don't upload commercial, copyrighted material!  It's against the law
and it puts the sysop in a compromising position.

4.  If you download SHAREWARE (user-supported) material, PLEASE support the
authors!  We hear that less than 1% of users do so; if this doesn't
improve, there just won't BE any more decent programs available in this
way.

5.  Take a few seconds to read updated BULLETINS, NEWSLETTERS, etc.  We
sysops go to a lot of trouble to make these things up, they're for YOUR
information and you just might find out something that will be beneficial.



                            EFFICIENCY TIPS

Most BBS systems will limit your daily access time.  It's to YOUR advantage
as well as the board's to 'get your chores' done in the most efficient way
possible.  At the risk of stating the obvious, here are some hints to help
you maximize your on-line time.

1.  Use the highest baud rate you can.  Most boards now support 1200 bps,
and a rapidly growing number are up to 2400 or even 9600.  2400 baud modems
are available for about $100 nowadays.  If you make any LD calls to boards,
you will pay for the modem pretty quickly in time saved!

2.  Most Comm. programs support log-on 'scripts' which will supply your
name, password, etc. automatically.  Many have powerful script commands
which can log you on, read messages, upload or download files, and a host
of other tasks without requiring your input.  Some will even do this in the
middle of the night, automatically, while you are cutting Z's.

3.  Use your 'capture' or 'logging' feature when possible for reading
messages, etc.  Unless you want to respond to several of the messages, you
can usually scroll them Non-Stop and then you can read them at your leisure
after signing off.  (You can always call back and enter messages or
replies, anyway, and if you compose them off-line, you can usually ASCII
upload them and save even more time!)

4.  Most boards supply a Master List of available files for downloading.
Generally it is mentioned in a bulletin, a newsletter, or an opening
screen.  I have seen callers waste 25 minutes reading, re-reading, and
re-re-reading the same file list.

5.  Use the most efficient transfer protocol you can:  here are some common
ones listed 'approximately' in order of efficiency, worst to best:

   Kermit -- ok but quite slow.  Developed for mainframes
   Xmodem ('checksum' type) -- popular but the MOST error-prone. Slow.
   Xmodem CRC (cyclic redundancy check) -- faster, almost 100% error free
   1K-Xmodem (sometimes erroneously called Ymodem) -- like CRC but uses 1K
             byte chunks of data.  May or may not be compatible with true
             Ymodem
   Ymodem -- found on most boards.  Very efficient unless phone line is
             noisy.  Excellent accuracy.
   Sealink - excellent protocol.  Usually an 'external' on most programs
   Megalink - very similar to Megalink.  Public domain.
   Zmodem -- probably the best of all. My favorite non-MNP protocol.

   Imodem and Ymodem-G -- these protocols are designed to be used with the
             new error-correcting modems (MNP system).  They will NOT work
             with standard modems.  VERY FAST when used with MNP modems.

6.  Use 'Expert' mode.  Skipping the full menus will save a Terrific amount
of time.  I like to print the full menus for each board and keep them in a
loose leaf notebook.  If I forget a command, it's easy to just open the
notebook and see it in all its glory.  (unless you just like to see pretty
colors, of course!)

                               WILDCAT

Since my board uses Mustang's Wildcat BBS system, I have decided to include
a few tips about some of its peculiarities.

1.  Navigating around Wildcat is real easy; you can go to any of the 3 main
menus from any of the 3 directly---that is, if you're in the Files Menu,
you can jump directly to Messages without backing up to Main, etc etc.

2.  Some Wildcat boards have only 1 message base (called Folders), and some
have up to 26.  You can 'open' or 'close' any of them you choose with the U
command at the Message menu.

3.  There may be anywhere from 1 to 26 File Areas.  You can list files in
one or more areas with a single command; i.e. L;ACFM will list all files in
areas a,c,f, and m.  (if you are using the hot-key feature, you would use L
by itself, then acfm at the next prompt)

4.  You can reverse read messages.  Say, for example, the high message
number (shown when you select [R]ead from the Message menu) is 2104 ...
just enter -2104 (minus sign preceding the number)...you then get the
messages in reverse order.

5.  Some Wildcat boards permit batch downloads.  These are handled by one
or more 'external' protocols, such as Ymodem-B, Zmodem, Megalink, Kermit,
and possibly 1 or 2 others.  The system does NOT, however as yet support
batch UPLOADS.  Hopefully this will be remedied in forthcoming versions.

6.  'Expert' mode is selected with the [H] command from the Main Menu.  The
'H' is derived from  'Help Level'.  There are 3 menu levels:
Novice (full menus), Regular (only the single letter options are printed),
and Expert (only the prompt).  You can always get a Help screen from any
level with the ? mark, or change [H] levels at any time.

7.  Complete the [E]ntering of a message by simply entering a blank line.
Select the appropriate command letter at that time.  Limited editing is
allowed.

8.  You can stop most displayed screens, menus etc. by pressing your
space-bar.

Well, that's it for now.  You are welcome to distribute this file by any
means you wish.  I will try to answer any questions or respond to comments
concerning this information or other aspects of BBS operation.  My board is
T 'n C (Town 'n Country) in Tampa, FL---the number is [phone]
8N1, 24 hours, 300-2400 baud.
                              --end of file--