EuroCD 3/EuroCD 3.iso/Communication/Citadel_BBS/Docs/Cit_Amiga_Docs.lha/citadel.prf

Text File | 1995-01-14 | 44KB | 798 lines

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Document Citadel.Guide
.br
_@REMARK $VER: Citadel.guide 1.0 (27.11.94)
.UNIT MAIN
 The documentation contained is a collection of information based on
the original Citadel 86 documentation by Hue, JR.  The mistakes are mine.
 It is pretty much a complete reference manual and every attempt is being
made to make this a complete manual with all details explained so that
even the most novice of users can understand how to setup and run a bbs.
The most important thing is to read this documentation and give it a try!
.UNIT Citadel History
 What is Citadel? Citadel is a Freeware project.  The source, executables
and all the documentation are available for no cost to you.  If you paid
for this, someone is ripping you off.
 Citadel was written in mid-December 1981 by CrT.
Miraculously, it ran three days unattended over
New Year's, collecting some remarkably favorable reactions.
During the months that it ran at 633-3282 (ODD-DATA),
Citadel became one of the more popular BBs in town, and
there was some disappointment when a hardware failure forced the system
down in February of 1982.  But in January CrT had published the
source code in BDS C, putting it in the public domain.
 David Mitchell brought up the next incarnation of the Citadel
program in April of 1982, running on hardware provided by Richard
Knox.  Called the Island Communication System, it is located on
Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound.  ICS has about 30 regular users
and about 120 log entries.  Newcomers find it easy to learn, and
often leave messages praising it.  Some of the system's daily
users are in Boston.
 Citadel is descended from DandD.pas, an adventure game editor/driver.
It is arranged as a series of rooms, starting with the LOBBY.  In each
room the user can read existing messages and leave more.
The system was brought up
with only one room, the LOBBY.  Additional rooms were created by
the users, with room names appropriate to the topics covered.
 Environment:  Citadel has had a checkered past.  It first ran
on a 64K Heath H89 with Magnolia CP/M, Hayes Smartmodem (plus
an acoustic on another port) and BDS C V1.32.
 As time went on, Citadel was ported to the Amiga, Atari, and even
the MAC.  Citadel runs on many platforms and since the source is available
will probably run on most future ones too.
.UNIT What is Citadel-68K
 Citadel-68K(also know as Amiga Citadel) is a single user BBS program.
It is a direct decendant of the 3.42 Citadel 86 by Hue, JR in Minnesota.
 Citadel comes in two flavors, a
68000 based version that will run on any Amiga and
an optimized 68030 based.  Citadel is able to run on any Amiga model and
under any OS from 1.2 to the latest.  The CTDL(main BBS executable) and
CONFG(BBS configuration tool) come in the two forms, the utilities come in the
68000 version only.  The Amiga Citadel is a direct port from the IBM
Citadel 86 by Hue Jr.  It originally was done by Jay Johnston, who did
not have the time to continue it so I, Tony Preston now maintain it.   I don't
have the time either, but I try...
.SUBUNIT Support Systems
 Probably the hardest part of running a Citadel is getting started.  Citadel
is not the most common of BBS programs even though it is free.
 You should be able to read this document and setup your configuration file,
run `CONFG' and then startup the BBS with no problems.  Since this rarely
happens and having a helping hand from someone that has already done what
you are trying to do can make things easier, you might want to try one of
these three places for help and information.
 The first is The Amiga
Zone, my BBS(609-953-8159).  It is available 24 hours and is where you will
find the most support and help.  I will often chat with people that call for
help and alway try to answer mail messages promptly.
Since calling long distance may not be an option for you, check around in
your area and see if you can find a local Citadel where you
can take major advantage of the networking features built into Citadel!  The
`C86Net' contains several support rooms where you can post your questions and
usually get quick answers.  These rooms are "Citadel 68K" and "Sysop Only".
If your local sysop will let you have some Long Distance credit you can send
me domain mail at "tony preston@The Amiga Zone.NJ".  You will learn more about
domain mail later.  There are many Citadels active on the network so you
might check the `BBS List' included in this document to see if one is local
to you.
finally, you can send me mail via  Internet.  I will answer the mail quickly
monday thru friday.  Anything sent over the weekend will wait till monday.
you can reach me at "[e-mail]" or "[e-mail]".
.SUBUNIT  Hardware required
 The minimum configuration for `Citadel'
is a 512K Amiga with 2 floppies.  This will allow you to run the BBS, but
probably not much more.  There are some people that have run Citadel on such
a small system.  Most either expand their system or just quit running it.
1 MB of memory and a hard drive is really the
practical limit.  I have created and ran a test bbs on an A500 with 1 MB
of memory and 2 floppies.  I would recommend that you have 2 MBs and as
a minimum a 20 MB HD for the BBS.
.SUBUNIT Requirements
 Citadel will run on any Amiga Model.  There are some minor problems with
running CONFG and fast memory on A3000s and A4000, but the work around is
simply to run NOFastMem before running CONFG.  These may be fixed at any
time, but since I do not have an A3000 or A4000, I can't look for the problem.
 Citadel does not need any external support software to run.  It relies
on the Operating System for 100% of the normal functions and is compatible
with 1.2 through to the latest OS.
 Citadel does not use alot of stack space, but will require that you have
your stack set to 8K or larger.  8K is more than enough for even the
largest and most complex Citadel.  Citadel will make sure you have at least
an 8K stack or it will quit with a `Citadel Error'.
 It is important to note is that you really should
plan on a 24 hour BBs, with a dedicated phone line.  A BBS that is available
from 11pm to 6am is not going to be very popular.  I would suggest that you
do not even consider networking unless your BBS is on a regular schedule.
.SUBUNIT Citadel Error
 Citadel is a complex system of functions.  In any complex system, things
go wrong.  Citadel attempts to validate most things when it starts up.
 Once you have the BBS up and running, you still may run into an occasional
problem.  The first thing to do is to collect sufficient information on
what exactly is going on.  Many times, if you look at the data you might
be able to solve the problem youself!
 In general, if you get an error and this information does not tell you
how to correct it, collect as much information as possible and report what
happended either directly to me or in the Citadel 68k room.  The first
thing to look for is a file called `debug.sys' or `crash.sys'.  These files
should appear in either your audit area, the home area, or the location
you started up Citadel.  I usually will want the information in these
files(even if it is just a cryptic one line message like "dependant variables
mismatch", sometimes it tells me exactly where the problem is).  The second
thing I will tell you to do is turn on debug, Here is a general method I
end up telling people:
.in +5
 1) go into the Sysop menu, turn on debug "D" option.  You can also do
this by typing ^D in the console window.
 2) Shut down your Citadel, "X" option.
 3) delete debug.sys in the audit area(or save it if it contains
info I might need.  At the least, edit the file and add some
markers (like two lines of asterisks) at the end of the file.
 4) Bring up Citadel and attempt to reproduce the problem.  If you
cannot do it locally, you might even ask a remote user to do it
for you.  leave debug on.  Note:  If you run confg, debug is
automatically turned off, repeat the above steps to turn it on again.
 5) archive all the information(using something like lha) and arrange
to get the information to me.  I may call your BBS to download the
file so make some arrangements in Citadel 68K so I know where it
is.
.in -5
 The above may generate alot of output.  Much of the output is cryptic
and may not seem like anything understandable.  It is mostly internal
data and is useful to me.
 From time to time, other errors may appear when you do something that
you really should not do(like power down the modem and then power it up).
These will generate errors like:
.in +5
 Error:  [1]IOError = nnnn
 Error:  [2]IOError = nnnn
.in +5
 Reason:  nnnn is a result code returned from a serial port i/o, usually
a dropped carrier(small timing window for a race condition could
cause this).  The error is handled for 99% of the cases in a way
that will cause Citadel to recover and reset.  [1] is the case
where I check to see what is in the serial port buffer, and [2]
is when the actual read is done.
.in -5
 Error:   Startup Error Code nn
.in +5
 Reason:  something went wrong during system initialization. The reasons
are:
.in +5
 1 - unable to open intuition.library, you must be 1.2 or greater
to run Citadel.
 2 - unable to open graphics.library, same as 1.  This error also
used to mean that the req.library was not in the libs: directory.
This is no longer a requirement.  Citadel does not depend on the
req.library(versions 3.42.P15 or later anyway).
 3 - Insufficient Stack space, Citadel versions 3.42.E19 and
earlier required a large stack, much larger than needed
(50K).  Versions 3.42.P35 and later will require a 8K
stack or less(I am still adjusting the values down).
Citadel still
requires the larger limit just to be cautious.
 11 - Console Open Error.  Catch all for console window errors
If you are using #WBSCREEN, try without it.
 25 - Open Serial Port Failed, Well, Citadel could not get to
the serial port(maybe something else has it open.  Note:  You
will not get this error if you run Citadel while it is already
running since it opens the serial port in a shared mode.
 31 - Could not create a Port for timer communications, Low
memory?  Trashed system tables?  Try a re-boot.  This is
one of those, "you should never get here".  If you bug me
with this type of problem, you had better have a full
system configuration and alot of details.
 32 - could not create an I/O request. See 31.
 33 - Open timer.device failed.  See 31.
.in -5
  Note:  In the serial port open errors, and in most cases with debug
turned on, you will get a text error message of the form:
 1:    Date - Dos Error:nnnn
 2:    (some text as to what happened)
 3:    (some text as to what happened) <-- you may get only one line.
 4:    Reason: <error text>
 5:    Current Directory

 Line 1: is the internal error code(less than 100), or the Dos error
code.
 Lines 2-3: will either be a command(like in the external protocols) and
a text line, or just one line of text.  External commands will display
the text and command, most errors do not have an external command.
 4: is the reason the error occured(from the Exec routine Fault).
 5: is the current directory.  This is important if you are trying to
setup a door for example and in the wrong directory.
 If the problem is reproducable, do it several times and record all possible
information, especially your system configuration!  If it happens just
once and you can not reproduce it, then still record what you can, check
things like memory in use, what is running.
.in -5
 Note:  If you have a problem that seems to happen often, realize that I
rarely have a crash.  Pleae check to see that something else is not causing
the problem.  Remove commodities, other programs and see if you can cause
the problem without that super-duper-whiz-bang mouse accelerator/screen
blanker!  It probably ain't Citadel!  If you are running on a 512K system,
you may just be running out of memory.  While every attempt has been made
to exit in a friendly manner, no guarentees...
.SUBUNIT Limits
For the most part,`Citadel'
only has your imagination as the limits...  In practicality, there are some
real physical limits you will have.  Each of these limits can be difficult
to adjust later so some planning is important at this point.
You must set a limit on the number of users (`#LOGSIZE'), rooms (`#MAXROOMS'),
and messages (`#MESSAGEK').  These parameters will directly determine the
amount of memory used while the BBS is running and the disk space needed to
support the message base and userlog.
.UNIT CONFG
 To setup the BBS, you must first configure your system.  This means taking
the example configuration and tayloring it to your liking.  The example is
based directly on `The Amiga Zone'.  The first thing you must do is chose
a name for your BBS (`#NODENAME'), a default banner (see `banners' and
`#NODETITLE'), enter in your Identification (`#NODEID').  It is this basic
information that users and other Citadels will know your bbs by.  Once you have
an idea of what
the theme of your BBS is, you can apply it to the initial room (`#BASEROOM'),
and floor (`#MAINFLOOR').  These will be the initial place that people are
located at when they login to your BBS.  Now comes the real work.  You must
decide some `basic system parameters' that will define how much disk space
your system will use.  This is important since the smaller the message base
is, the quicker messages will scroll off.  Citadel has a fixed message base
so that once you configure your system, the disk space usage is constant.
You will never run out of message space, the BBS will reuse the existing
space deleting the oldest messages to make room for the new ones.
 Next we have the `USER_PARAMETERS' which define the default `PRIVILEGES'
for your users.  These determine how open your system is(can a user create
their own account or do you do it?).  Whether people are able to use doors,
or post messages to the network.  If you restrict people, then they will have
to ask you for the privilege(and you will have to give it to those you choose).
If you make them the default, people will get them automatically, you then
do not have to do anything.  I setup my system to be as automatic as possible.
People can create their own account and do not need to be validated.  The
example setup is configured that way.
The most important user is the SYSOP,
You.  There are some parameters that make your life easier. the `sysop_parameters'
will take care of those.  Now we get to `Network' parameters which you can
skip initially, but will eventually want to look into.  Get your BBS up and
running first before you worry about that.
 The basic BBS has several `areas' you will want to setup.  Most people will
setup a logical assignment that is the root of the BBS disk area (called `#HOMEAREA') and
make everything a subdirectory off of that.  Citadel is pretty flexible, if
you are running from an A500 with 2 floppies, it will run, even if the size
will be small!
 CONFG is simple to run.  Once you have created the `CTDLCNFG.SYS' file, you
just run CONFG in the same directory.  It will read each line, and report
any errors.  If there are errors, it will stop after the last line is read.
If no errors, it will finish up its processing, possibly ask you some
questions and create all the required files.
.SUBUNIT SYSOP_PARAMETERS

.SUBUNIT USER_PARAMETERS
 User parameters is a catch all for most of the parameters related to user.
Since the BBS is about users, nearly everything could be put into this
catagory.  There are three sets of parameters.  The first is the `unlogged users'
parameters.  This is all the parameters relating to a user that has not
logged in yet.   The second is the `PRIVILEGES', the values given to a new
user when their account is created.  The last is the `user characteristics'.
 Each of these parameters must be setup and will define the way your BBS
operates.
.SUBUNIT unlogged users
 When a user first calls the BBS, they will get a set of default parameters
that will define how the BBS operates until they login or create an account.
If you do not allow them to create an account on their own, they will have
to send you mail and you will have to do this manually(called account validation).
Citadel allows you to operate either way.  For unlogged users, the parameters
are:
.nf
 `#UNLOGGED-WIDTH'   -  The default width of a line
 `#LOGINOK'          -  Open/Close system control
 `#ENTEROK'          -  Can users enter messages while not logged in?
 `#READOK'           -  Can users read messages while not logged in?
 `#ANON-MAIL-LENGTH' -  Limit on anonymous mail length to prevent `RUGGIES'
 `#LOGIN-ATTEMPTS'   -  Limit on how many times a user can make a mistake
.SUBUNIT PRIVILEGES
 This section defines the user privileges, defaults and all related parameters.
These parameters will save you some time and effort.  If you have doors and want
everyone to be able to play, it does not make sense to have to give everyone the
privilege.  Instead use these parameters to set the defaults.
 `#DOORPRIVS'        -  Allow new users to have access to doors
 `#ROOMOK'           -  Allow users to be able to create new rooms.
 `#ALLMAIL'          -  Control who can use mail
 `FILE-PRIV-DEFAULT' -  Allow users to have file up/down load access
.SUBUNIT user characteristics
.SUBUNIT #BASEROOM
 Citadels always have a minimum of three rooms.  There is the `Aide room',
`Mail room', and the initial room a caller starts out in called the base room.
 Historically, the initial room was always called The Lobby.  Most Citadels
today have this configuration parameter which allows you to name that initial
room.
 This parameter is a string value obeying formatting
directives and goes through the Citadel formatter, and you must limit
yourself to 19 characters or less for this value. And one more note --
Citadel will append the '>' to this name when it prints the room prompt
for this room, you don't have to put it in yourself. If you wished to
emulate the old CP/M Citadel, you'd set baseRoom thus:
 #BASEROOM "Lobby"
 There is no default for this parameter.
.SUBUNIT #MAINFLOOR
 MainFloor is analogous to #BASEROOM.  Most Citadels have a base
floor, just as it has an Aide> room, etc.  This parameter allows you to
name this base floor.  This parameter is a string value which cannot be
longer than 19 characters, and specifies the name of your base floor.  So,
if you want to name your base floor MAIN FLOOR, you'd have
 #MAINFLOOR "MAIN FLOOR"
 There is no default value for this parameter.
.SUBUNIT areas
 The BBS is organized into what is called areas.  These are directories that
either Citadel creates files in, or uses to recieve temporary files from a
network session, or user action.  There are parameters for each of the
major areas.
.nofill
 `#HOMEAREA'        - The root location of the BBS.
 `#HELPAREA'        - Help files(`.HLP'), menus, and banners
 `#LOGAREA'         - User data files
 `#ROOMAREA'        - Room related files
 `#MSGAREA'         - Message base
 `#FLOORAREA'       - Floor related files
 `#AUDITAREA'       - User, Door, and File activity
 `#HOLDAREA'        - Hold area for user messages
 `#EDIT-AREA'       - Editor area for a sysop editor(console only)
 `#NETAREA'         - Network files area
 `#NET__RECEPT__AREA' - Receiving area for files sent to you
 `#DOMAINAREA'      - Domain data files area
.fill
 The `CONFG' program will require that you define each area and will create
the directory if it does not exist.
.SUBUNIT #HELPAREA
   This parameter specifies where all of your Help files will be located.
These files are *.HLP, *.BLB, and *.MNU.  Normally, you should create this
directory and place the help files in the directory before bringing up
Citadel-86, since help files are usually online at all times.
 #HELPAREA "cit:helps"
 The help files, menus and default bulletins are in the cithelps.lha
file in the Citadel Documentation room.  You will have to do some customization
of these files for your system.  If you find an error or re-write the
contents of a file, try to return that file so that others will benifit from
your work.
.SUBUNIT #LOGAREA
 This parameter specifies the location of your `CTDLLOG.SYS' file (this
file is sized by your `#LOGSIZE' parameter).
 #LOGAREA "cit:users"         -- put it in a general system dir
.SUBUNIT #ROOMAREA
 This parameter specifies the location of `CTDLROOM.SYS', `CTDLARCH.SYS',
and `CTDLDIR.SYS'.
 #ROOMAREA "cit:room"          -- another general system dir
.SUBUNIT #MSGAREA
 This parameter specifies the location of `CTDLMSG.SYS'.  It is also the
location of the special Citadel message file `CIT__MESSAGES.SYS'.  Citadel
will create the message file when you run `CONFG', the other file is
supplied with the executable archive.
 #MSGAREA "cit:messages"            -- give msgs there own place in the sun
.SUBUNIT #FLOORAREA
 This parameter specifies the location of `CTDLFLR.SYS'.
 #FLOORAREA "cit:floors"
.SUBUNIT #AUDITAREA
 This parameter is a string value
parameter specifying a directory which will hold the audit
files.  If this parameter is not present in your `CTDLCNFG.SYS' file, then
the audit files will not be created or updated by Citadel.
 The audit files are usually text files of information on how the BBS is
running.  For example there is a file (`CALLLOG.SYS')  which shows information
on the callers.  Another file keeps track of door usage (`DOORUSE.SYS'), and
another one the file up/download information (`FILELOG.SYS').
 #AUDITAREA "c:audit"         -- This can only be a subdirectory
.SUBUNIT CIT__MESSAGES.SYS
 This file contains most of the Citadel BBS messages.  The BBS references
the text via the Message code.  This allows the SYSOP the maximum flexibility
in configuring their BBS.  You can use the standard messages, or customize
them to your heart's content.
 The Message file is formatted into one line per message.  The first 8 columns
may be A "#" for a comment line, or a message code.  THE "#" in column 1 will
cause the rest of the line to be ignored.  Column 9 is blank, for readability,
and columns 10 to 79 are the message text.  If the message text starts with
an "@", the message text is taken to be a filename and that file will be read
instead as the message text.  This will allow you to have more than one line
in a single message.  The message codes end in either EX for expert user
messages, or NO for novice user message.  If no EX version exists, the BBS
will automatically use the NO version.  If neither one exists, the BBS will
display "***ERROR CODE nnnnnnnn" where nnnnnnnn is the missing message.  If
these occur, just create the appropriate message and add it to the file.
If you find any message codes in the original file missing, then notify the
Amiga Zone.
 One of the reasons for the message formatting is to get system dependant
information from the BBS by using special variable names.  These names are
listed below:
.nf
.nap
  Variable     Description
  ^variant     Name of this Citadel Variant such as "Citadel 68K"
  ^version     Major Version Id of Citadel
  ^sysvers     Minor Version Id of Citadel
  ^baseroom    The baseroom of your BBS
  ^sysop       The name of the Sysop
  ^nodetitle   The BBS Node Title
  ^nodename    The BBS Node Name
  ^nodedomain  The Domain the BBS is considered part of
  ^nodeid      The BBS Node Id
  ^mainfloor   The Floor that contains the BaseRoom
  ^curruser    The name of the Current User.
  ^ulprotocols A list of the Protocols usable for uploading
  ^dlprotocols A list of the Protocols usable for downloading
  ^doorlist    A list of the Doors available in the current room
  ^lastuser    The last caller's name
  ^privileges  A list of the privileges you currently have.
  ^callcount   The number of calls this Citadel has recieved.
  ^ia1         Special Integer Argument #1 (see below)
  ^sa1         Special String Argument  #1
  ^ia2         Special Integer Argument #2
  ^sa2         Special String Argument  #2
  ^ia3         Special Integer Argument #3
  ^sa3         Special String Argument  #3
  ^currtime    The current time
  ^currdate    the current date
  ^s           A single space
  ^n           A newline followed by a space
.fill
.autoparagraph
 The Special Arguments are pieces of data that are used in some of the
existing messages.  Currently the 3rd one is not used(but may be).  Most
of the messages do not use them, but those that do should probably continue
to use them.  You can remove the special variable from the messages that
currently do use them, but adding them to a message that does not will get
you a zero for an interger argument and nothing for a string argument.
 It is best to keep the original message file around to check to see what
was available for the code.
.SUBUNIT CALLLOG.SYS
 CALLLOG.SYS contains three types of notes.  The first type lists when
the system has come up and down.
 The second type records who has called, listing login and logout times,
one line per person, in the following format:
 <person>   :   <login time> - <logout time> <baud rate>
 Occasionally such a line will have an extra character appended onto it,
and they have the following significance.
.nofill
 '+'  The user logged in as new.
 '-'  The user used .TS to logout.
 'T'  The user timed out on the system.
 'E'  The user hit the error limit on the system and was kicked off.
 'B'  The system kicked the user off for too many offenses against `BADWORDS.SYS'.
 'C'  The user tried to chat with you.
.fill
 The third type of message in CALLLOG.SYS are notes regarding network
sessions, both normal and anytime-net.  These record on a single line
the start and end times of the net sessions.  This particular message can
be disabled by using the #CLEAN-CALLLOG parameter.
.SUBUNIT FILELOG.SYS
 FILELOG.SYS format is somewhat different.  Generically, it looks like
this:
 <user name> @ <baud rate>
 file1 (n bytes) <roomname> <U or D> <start to end> <length> <protocol>
 [FAILED]
 file2 (n bytes) <roomname> <U or D> <start to end> <length> <protocol>
 [FAILED]
 This format keeps the number of user names down.  "n bytes" is the size
of the file.  "roomname" is the room involved.  "U or D" refers to whether
the named file was Uploaded or Downloaded.  "start to end" refers to start
time and end time of the file session, while length is the amount of time
involved.  Protocol will be one of the three XMODEM, YMODEM, or WXMODEM, or
an external one you have setup.
"FAILED" will only appear on the line if the transfer failed.
.SUBUNIT DOORUSE.SYS
 DOORUSE.SYS simply lists who used what doors for what amount of time
at what time of the day.  It appears in the `#AUDITAREA'.
.SUBUNIT #HOLDAREA
 Citadel has an optional capability to save a user's messages, put them on
hold so to speak.  This can be because the user lost carrier while entering
a message, or told the BBS to Hold the message for later.  The reason this
is optional, is that if you do not specify this area, a user will not be able
to use this option and any message held will be lost when the user terminates
the session.  A held file takes about 8K bytes of space on the disk.  It is
possible that every user could have a held message at one time, each is uniquely
identified so in figuring disk space, this should be remembered.
 #HOLDAREA "hold"
.SUBUNIT #EDIT-AREA
 The optional edit area goes along with the sysop editor directive `#EDITOR'
which is used to define a directory where the BBS will put the temporary
message file and run the sysop editor(this is for the console user only).
This is like any BBS area.
 #EDIT-AREA "RAM:"
.SUBUNIT #EDITOR
 This is the command that is used to run the optional Console user editor.
When a user is logged into the console, this command is used to invoke the
external program to edit the message text(will be written to tempmsg.sys in
this area).  This command should specify any options needed to make the
editor run and have the BBS pause while the editor is running(some editors
will release the task as soon as they startup which will make Citadel think
your done editing).
 #EDIT-AREA "TTX WAIT"
.SUBUNIT #NETAREA
 This command tells the BBS where to put the files that are related to the
network process.  It is like any other BBS area.
 #NETEAREA "NET"
.SUBUNIT #NET__RECEPT__AREA
 This is a special BBS directory that is used to store all files sent to your
system by another system during a network session.  When a system uses the
Send File faculty(not the same as requesting a file over the network).
 #NET__RECEPT__AREA  "Recieving"
 Files sent to your BBS using the utility `AFF' will appear in this area.  In
addition, the parameters `#NET__AREA__SIZE' and `#MAX__NET__FILE' will be used to
limit the amount of files and the largest file in this area.
.SUBUNIT #NET__AREA__SIZE
 This parameter controls the total amount of space you wish to allow files
coming into your system via the net(Send File Command).  This is the limit
on files being sent to your without you asking.  If this area fills up to
this size, additional files will be rejected.
.SUBUNIT #MAX__NET__FILE
 This parameter controls the size of the largest file your will allow to be
sent to you during a network session.  Files larger than this size will be
rejected.
.SUBUNIT #DOMAINAREA
 This parameter specifies the area where Citadel will put the domain related
temporary files.  The files in this area are dynamic.  Citadel will create
them as needed and maintain them totally.  You will not need to worry about
these files unless there is a problem with domain mail and you are the server
for your domain.  This is a fairly advance topic and not covered in this
document.  Eventually, there will be a separate document for these types of
issues.
.SUBUNIT basic system parameters
 The basic system parameters define how many `rooms'(`#MAXROOMS'),
messages per room(`#MSG-SLOTS'), private mail messages per user(`#MAIL-SLOTS'),
Size of the message base(`#MESSAGEK') and if you will want it encrypted
(`#CRYPTSEED').  You want to give some careful thought to these parameters
since any choices made now will be a bit painful to modify later.  There are
`utilties' that will allow parameters to be modified, but only to increase them.
To decrease them requires that you start over by deleting the appropriate
files and reconfiguring.
 I recommend that you keep `#CRYPTSEED' at zero
although any value can be used.  It makes debug easier for me if I grab
your files plus that value will speed up all the processing.
The message slots and size of the message base is a little cryptic.  If
you have 100 slots, then Citadel will remember the last 100 messages in
each room.  Mail has a separate value, but it is the same idea.  With
100 rooms, you have 10,000 active messages possible in the system.  With
messages sizing from  500 bytes to 7500 bytes, you could have a message
base of 5,000,000 to 75,000,000!  Typically the average message is alot
closer to the 500 bytes size.  The 600K size here gives me a file that is
1217 blocks in size(614400 bytes).  This would actually fit on a floppy
if you wanted(although it would pretty much fill the floppy).
You can make these pretty much any value you want, the larger the value
the more the disk space needed.  A reasonable approximation for messagek
is:
 ( MSG-SLOTS + MAIL-SLOTS ) * 2.75K
 ( 120 + 99 ) * 3K = 602.25
 You can use more.....
For the larger sized system, use 7.5K and get 1604K...
The practical limit is 4095K
.SUBUNIT #CRYPTSEED
   CRYPTSEED is a value used in encrypting the data files.  Choose a
value when you install the system, but not thereafter -- or you
won't be able to read the existing files any more.  If you use a value of
zero, none of the data files will be encrypted.  This has little value since
you as SYSOP can access anybody's account and read any message, there is no
privacy.  I recommend using zero.  You should not allow any of the system
files to be downloaded and this is the only protection you have if you do.
It is better to keep the users out of the data files.  Using zero has an
additional benifit that your system will be slightly faster.  If you use a
non zero encryption seed, all the data files will be encoded.   An example
is:
 #CRYPTSEED 1234
 It is important that you do not change this value.  If for some reason you
should lose your `CTDLCNFG.SYS' file, run the `VERIFY' utility and it will
display not only this value, but the value of all the important data from
this file.  Without this data item, you will not be able to reconfigure
your BBS.  This is important since if the bbs should crash, or your system
should go down while the bbs is running, you have to run the CONFG utility
to recreate the data file `CTDLTABL.SYS'.  Without that file, the BBS will
not run.  There is only one parameter on the command line.  If it does not
match "onlyParams" or "FirstInit" then CONFG will assume you are re-initializing
the BBS.  "FirstInit" assumes that you want to create the BBS from scratch
initializing all the files as if creating a new BBS.  This means that if you
already have a BBS up and running, all the data files will be re-created and
initialized as empty(i.e all existing users deleted, all messages gone).  You
can use this the first time and CONFG will not ask you any questions about
creating this file or that one...  Once you have a running BBS and you need
to modify certain parameters(see `Safe Configuration Parameters')
.SUBUNIT Safe Configuration Parameters
 These parameters control characteristics of the BBS and not file sizes.  You
can modify these at any time by changing the value in the `CTDLCNFG.SYS' file
and then running "CONFG ONLYPARAMS".  To do this, change the file, bring the
BBS down, then run CONFG and then restart the BBS.
.SUBUNIT  #NODEID
 As mentioned, this parameter is a network parameter that has
traditionally always been set, even for non-network Citadels.  If you have
no plans to ever be on a `C86Net', Then this is not real important.
 If you do plan to join the `C86Net',
(we'll go over this in more detail in the section on `Networking'),
then you do have to set this parameter correctly.  The format of this
parameter is
 "<Country code><Area Code><Phone number>"
 all of which applies to the phone your system resides on.  Country
code is a two letter sequence indicating what country you live in (US is
the United States, CA is Canada.  Other country codes may be found in
COUNTRY.DOC). Area code is the area code of your system (yes,
we are aware there is a clear bias towards US-style telephony).  And
Phone number is, of course, the phone number your system is on.  You
can put punctuation (such as parenthesis and dashes), but please be
conservative with them.  This string value does not obey formatting
directives.  Here's a fairly generic example:
  #NODEID "US [phone]"   -- Some system somewhere..:)
 Other systems will use your node id to call you for networking.  It
will be how other systems identify your system's messages.
.SUBUNIT  #NODENAME
 nodeName is, in reality, purely a network parameter, and if you have no
plans to ever join a `C86Net', then there is no need to fill in this
parameter.  However, it has always been traditional, even before there was
a net for any Citadel system anywhere, to fill in this and the `#NODEID'
parameter.   nodeName is a string value which does NOT accept
formatting directives (i.e., formatting directives will be ignored).  It
can be no longer than 19 letters long.  It should be a short, mnemonic
name for your system.  An EXAMPLE of a reasonable value:
 #NODENAME "ODD-DATA"             -- The original Citadel
 If you ever do join a `C86Net', messages from your system appearing on
another Citadel-86 node will look something like this
 82Nov23 from Cynbe ru Taren @ODD-DATA
 except ODD-DATA would be replaced with your value for #NODENAME.
.SUBUNIT  #NODETITLE
 The first parameter you should find is called nodeTitle. It is a string
value obeying formatting directives, and is subject to formatting
considerations.  nodeTitle is the title of your installation printed when
carrier is detected on your system.  More precisely, nodeTitle will show
up in the following place on your system:
  Welcome to <#NODETITLE>
 However, nodeTitle may not necessarily be printed at this point.  After
successfully bringing your system up, please consult the section
on Help Files for more information on banner options.  EXAMPLE:
 #NODETITLE "Test System\n Truly a Heaven in Reverse"
The #NODETITLE is printed out on .Read Status commands, also.  There is no
formal limit on the length of this parameter.
.SUBUNIT  banners
.SUBUNIT  The Amiga Zone
 The Amiga Zone is the primary support BBS.  The number is [phone].
There are other Citadels that will help the budding Sysop out, but this is
the place you will find the latest and greatest version of Citadel, CONFG,
and the Utilities.  In addition to calling direct, you should think about
networking the Citadel 68K room.  This is the place where comments, bug
reports, and other issues are discussed.  The Amiga Zone will feed the room
to any Citadel that wishes to network, however, the Amiga Zone will not call
out for a network session unless the system is local.  You will have to pay
for the calls.  This does not amount to much if you call a few times a week.
Fortunately, there are about 200 Citadels in the USA and Canada, you might
find a local system to network with, or one that costs less than the Amiga
Zone to network with.  If you wish, I will answer questions at my internet
address "[e-mail]" or "[e-mail]".
.SUBUNIT  #LOGSIZE
 This numerical parameter gives you the ability to decide
how many accounts will be available on your system.  If you run a system
in which more accounts are used than there are accounts reserved, then new
accounts are generated by killing old accounts.  Accounts are recycled
by finding the account who's last use is the oldest of all the accounts
in the system, under the assumption such an account is no longer active.
 All space is reserved immediately for these accounts.  The size of
this file can be estimated from the formula(this includes a possible held
file for every USER).
  # of bytes = LOGSIZE * (82 + MAXROOMS + (6 * MAIL-SLOTS) + 8092)
 so if you are operating in a restricted environment, plan accordingly.
If you need to, you can expand the size of the log through the use of
the `DATACHNG' utility, but the log cannot be shrunk.  This is a numerical
value.  Here is an example:
 #LOGSIZE 200
 For a system with 100 rooms(`#MAXROOMS'), and 100 mail slots(`#MAIL-SLOTS')
this would be just over 150K bytes for 200 users.
It should be noted that the larger the logsize, the longer the `CONFG'
utility will take to re-configure the system.  Each entry is checked and
updated when this is done.
.SUBUNIT  #MAXROOMS
 This numerical parameter specifies the maximum number of rooms your
system will support.  Since the baseRoom, Aide>, and Mail> room are
necessary, the smallest value you can give is 3.  The largest number is
65536.  If you wanted to have a 64 room system, you'd have
 #MAXROOMS 64
 You can use the following formula to estimate the number of bytes a
room file will take up on your SYSTEM:
 # of bytes = MAXROOMS *(50 + (6 * MSG-SLOTS))
 For a system with 100 rooms and 200 message slots(`#MSG-SLOTS'), you
would need aproximately 125 Kbytes of disk space.  It should be noted that the
larger this is, the longer the `CONFG' takes since each room is updated.
.SUBUNIT #MAIL-SLOTS
 This is a numerical parameter specifying how many messages per log
record you wish to reserve for Mail.  The Mail> room is the only
room in the system whose data is not kept in CTDLROOM.SYS.  Instead, the
file CTDLLOG.SYS contains the "Mail>" room, reserving for each account
enough room for MAIL-SLOTS Mail messages.  Therefore, this parameter gives
you the ability to decide the maximum number of Mail> messages per user
they can access.  Please remember if a user gets more messages
in Mail> than there are MAIL-SLOTS between two successive logins, then
they will lose the earlier messages sent to them.  Another consideration
is many users like to review old Mail when engaged in an in-depth
private conversation.  Therefore, setting MAIL-SLOTS to a low value may
not be the attractive alternative it first seems.  However, it should
go without saying a high MAIL-SLOTS value may eat up more room than
necessary on your drives.  The section on `#LOGSIZE' will give an exact
formula for how much space your log will take up.
.SUBUNIT #MESSAGEK
 MESSAGEK defines how much disk space you wish to allocate for messages
on your installation.  Because messages can vary in size, there is no way
to define how many messages you can
have in your system, or how fast they turnover.  All the messages in your
system will reside in CTDLMSG.SYS, and thus the number of messages in your
system at any given moment will depend totally on the length of the messages
being entered into the system by your users.  The turnover rate of your
messages will depend on how busy your system is.
 For example, if you reserve 600K for messages, you would have an approximate
1200 messages(messages can get as large a 7500 characters so if you have verbose
users, this could be as low as 80 messages if they were all to the limit, a
good conservative estimate is 512 characters which gives 1200 messages).  If
you get 25 callers a day and each posted 4 messages, you would have a
turnover of about 12 days.  If you networking and get 25 messages a day
in 4 rooms, plus these callers, you have a 6 day turnover.  The higher the
volume, the quicker the turnover.  When the messages turnover, older message
space gets reused which means older messages are deleted.  Shared rooms can
have a very high volume.
 The sysop of an installation should also keep in mind that very large
systems, with many new messages, can be intimidating to new users, so
large message spaces should be approached with caution.  Remember, there
is a utility(`Expand') for expanding the message base, but not for shrinking
it.  The only method available to shrink the message base is to delete the
existing one and then reset this value to a smaller amount.  You will lose
all the messages(including mail) if you do this.
 This is a numerical value which you specify in 'K', which is actually
1024 bytes/K.  So, for example, to specify a 250K message file
 #MESSAGEK 250               -- 250K message base
 The above parameter will require 250 Kbytes of disk space.
.UNIT Utilities
.UNIT Installation
.UNIT C86Net
.UNIT BBS List
.UNIT Citadel
.UNIT Files
 This section details the various files that exist in the Citadel BBS system.
Most of these files are maintained by the BBS software and you only need to know
a general idea of why they are there and how big they will be.  Some have particular
formats and must be maintained by the Sysop. The files are:
 `debug.sys' - System debug information
 `crash.sys' - System failure message
.SUBUNIT debug.sys
 This file is only generated if the `#AuditArea' is defined.  It will be generated
only if the debug sysop option is turned on or there is a serious error or problem
and the system needs to report information.  Most of the entries in this file are
also displayed on the console.  This is a log that should be examined for problems
that could occur in your setup.  Generally, if you have a problem and want someone
to assist you, it would be a good idea to make this file available(in other words
don't delete until your sure it wont be needed).
.SUBUNIT crash.sys
 This file usually contains only a single error message.  It is used to display
information about a failure while the BBS was initializing and did not have the
screen and windows open to report the problem.  This file will occur in the
current directory which might not be `#HOMEAREA', since the BBS is going to stop
itself immediately.