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RIMEMAN.TXT
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1994-07-17
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RIME USERS GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
This manual deals with how you, as a user, can realize the most from the
RIME network. It was written in response to your requests and will
hopefully answer your questions on how to use the network to your best
advantage.
RIME has been in existence since early 1988. It was started by Bob Shuck
and was originally composed of a small group of 10 or so Washington D.C.
boards. Dissatisfaction with the software that the then "UpLink"
network was using, a casual conversation with Kip Compton and the
addition of a board in New York gave birth to PCRelay Software and the
RIME Network. In a quest for more excellence, we have just changed our
network software to the next generation, Postlink.
As you read this manual please remember that if there is a subject you
do not understand, the NewUsers conference is always available for all
questions. If your sysop does not carry the NewUser conference, why not
ask him/her to do so. Never be embarrassed to ask a question on this
network. We were all new users once too. No question is ever
considered too dumb-- and really, we are a friendly lot!
WHAT IS RIME?
RIME is a world wide network of electronic bulletin board systems
(otherwise known as a BBS) that join hands to form an electronic mail
system. Messages you enter on one BBS are sent (copied) to another BBS.
That BBS in turn copies your message along with it's own messages to yet
another BBS. This is known as echoing or relaying. When you leave a
message or "mail" on a participating board, that message is copied to
all other boards that participate in the network. The fact that your
messages travel from bulletin board to bulletin board is the only thing
that makes your message different from entering a message on a purely
local bulletin board.
This network of bulletin boards has one common goal: To provide a
environment for the friendly exchange of messages with others all over
the world.
RIME is also a group of very committed professional sysops who have made
the resources of an international BBS network available to you.
RIME provides user support for a wide variety of special interest groups
and product support for a wide variety of products. In fact, if you want
to find a wider variety of subjects you'd have to join a pay network
like Prodigy or CompuServe.
From all parts of the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, South America,
Australia and the Far East you'll find members of RIME.
WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE?
RIME consists of one governing body: the Steering Committee. The
Steering Committee consists of 5 members. They are the glue that holds
the network together. They are ultimately responsible for all decisions
of the network. The Steering Committee consists of:
Bonnie Anthony
Howard Belasco
Rex Hankins
JThomas Howell
Mike Glenn
These people have put a lot of effort into making sure that when you
dial your local board, RIME is there. They are also in charge of the
network Hub, affectionately called the NETHUB. If you have a question
about policy, these are the right people to ask. If you need to send
them a message, address one message to STEERCOM. An individual message
to each member is unnecessary. You may leave your question in either
the COMMON or NetUser conference (see below on how to send STEERCOM a
private routed message.)
To help you understand some of this terminology:
NODE: A bulletin board system (BBS) that calls another bulletin board
system (called a Hub) in order to transfer mail. A node does not
receive mail directly from any other BBS. (that is, no one calls
it to transfer mail.)
HUB: A bulletin board system (BBS) that calls another Hub to transfer
mail, and is called by one or more nodes to transfer mail.
SITE: A site is the same as a NODE, a bulletin board system. Each site
is designated by its own unique site number. The site number
appears in the tagline area of every message that is exported from
a board.
SUPER-REGIONAL HUB: One of several Hubs located in different geographic
locations. These Hubs are appointed by the Steering Committee.
Generally, Hubs call a Super-Regional Hub, which in turn, calls
the NetHub.
NETHUB:The "home" of RIME, operated in Bethesda, Maryland by Bonnie
Anthony. All Super-Regional Hubs call the NetHub for their mail
packets.
ID CODE:A one to twelve character string which contains letters or
numbers. Each node has a unique IDCODE which is used to identify
that node in the network. The IDCODE appears at the bottom of
every message that is "relayed" thruout the network.
SITE NUMBER:The number of each individual site. The site number is the
most convenient way to route to a particular board in the network.
Then there are the conference hosts. A conference host is in charge of
a particular conference (defined later), just as the Steering Committee
is in charge of the network.
On our Network, coordinating the conferences is a big job, and is
currently handled by several people. You should familiarize yourself
with who does what:
James Wall (IDCODE=DREAM SITE 121) is the Conference Coordinator
and responsible for adding new conferences, assigning
hosts to old conferences and keeping track of conference
numbers - in other words, he is the man to see if you
want to start a new conference, or become a host on
RIME.
Penny Plant (IDCODE=BOREALIS SITE 914) is the Conference
Liason, the person that handles all intra-conference
problems. If you are experiencing some problem in a
conference, Penny is the one to get in touch with.
Rick Kingslan (IDCODE=OMAHANET) is our Marketing Coordinator,
Last but not least are the real, unsung heros of the network, the
sysops! These are the people who go to great expense providing equipment
and phone lines so you can converse with the world. The sysop is always
the first line of defense in case a problem arises.
HOW DOES MY MAIL GET TO ME?
Each day your local bulletin board calls its Regional Hub, usually in
the middle of the night. At that time, all new messages that users have
entered on the BBS are uploaded to the Regional Hub. Then, that board
downloads a packet which contains all the public and routed messages
from every other BBS on the network.
The Regional Hub takes this packet and adds it to packets from other
boards connected to it and creates larger, more complete packets. These
packets contain messages, files and requests from each board that calls
the Regional Hub. At least once a day, usually two or three times, the
Regional Hub calls the Super-Regional Hub, which, in turn, calls the
NetHub.
The NetHub takes the incoming packet of hub mail and returns to the
Super-Regional Hub all the mail it received since that Hub last called.
The Nethub then adds the new mail it received to the waiting mail for
all other Hubs. This is all done automatically.
The Regional Hub takes all the mail it received from the Super-Regional
Hub and adds it to the packet for your board (and all the other boards
connected to it.) Then you call your local board and either download
the mail to read using your off-line reader or read and reply to the new
mail on the board.
FEATURES AVAILABLE TO USERS
RIME uses Postlink software written by Kip Compton. This is without
question one of the most versatile network software written.
Some of the features, such as file sends and requests are not normally
directly available to users. However, if a unique file is mentioned in
a conference message, you might ask your sysop if he could obtain that
file for you.
Please remember that most Hubs call long distance for their mail and
files i