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1995-09-24
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998 lines
┌┐┌┐┌┐┌┐┌┐┌┐┌────┐┌┐ ┌┐┌─┐ ┌┐┌────┐┌┐┌┐┌┐┌────┐
╔═════════════││││││││││││└─┐┌─┘││ │││ └┐│││┌───┘│││││││┌───┘═════════════╗
║ Volume 6 ││││││││││││ ││ └┼┐┌┼┘│ └┘││└───┐│││││││└───┐ Sep-Oct ║
║ Issue 3 ││││││││││││ ││ ││││ │┌┐ ││┌───┘││││││└───┐│ 1995 ║
╚═════════════│└┘└┘││└┘└┘│┌─┘└─┐ └┼┼┘ ││└┐ ││└───┐│└┘└┘│┌───┘│═════════════╝
│ └────┘└────┘└────┘ └┘ └┘ └─┘└────┘└────┘└────┘ │
│ Serving WWIV Sysops & Users Across All WWIV Networks │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────┐
│This Issue's Features│
┌────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┐
│ Random Factors.......................................Wayne Bell (1@1) │
│ │
│ Soft Servings: News from WWIV Software Services.....Filo (1@4000), │
│ Random (1@1), │
│ with input this month from │
│ Emerald Lady (1@9201 │
│ │
│ The GC's Corner: Notes from the Group Coordinators..A Compilation │
│ │
│ Tips For Running WWIV Under Windows 3.1x.............Enchantress (1@1625) │
│ Laffin (84@1625) │
│ │
│ Tips For Running WWIV Under Windows 95...............Bull Ship (1@11132) │
│ │
│ Understanding Viruses................................Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ Type 2/0 Forum.......................................Edited by │
│ Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ Filo's Mod of the Month..............................Filo (1@4000) │
│ │
│ Adult File Areas and the Bill that Wasn't............Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ Dear Abby............................................Abby │
│ │
│ Demographics! Who are you?..........................Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ Classified Ads.......................................A Compilation │
│ │
│ On the Lighter Side..................................Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ What If Operating Systems Ran Airlines?..............Sam (1@4051) │
│ │
│ Closing Thoughts.....................................Sam (1@4051) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ Random Factors │
│ Creative Commentary by Wayne Bell (1@1) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
I finally have v4.24a finalized! It will probably be out (and you'll probably
already have a copy) by the time you read this. v4.24a contains only bug
fixes, not new features.
That means ... it's time to start on v4.25. No, I don't have any clue when it
might be out, but it certainly won't be this year. I've already received a
bunch of mods from people for potential inclusion, and now I can start
actually looking at them...
You may note (if you care) that the connect.0 file is FINALLY sorted. Ever
since the Great Node Renumbering, it's been in pretty random order, but I
finally bit the bullet and wrote out some code to sort it all.
Note also that the NetUp registration price has been dropped from $300 to
$100, for those who run their own networks. If you're interested, and didn't
see the post about it on the WWIV Software Services Info sub (type WSS, host
@4000), email me and ask for the "netup" form letter.
Watch for the WWIVcon/96 info to appear now and again in the WWIVnet analysis
feedback. Many people got tired of seeing the WWIVcon/95 info continuously
for a long period, so I'll spare you with the '96 info. Hopefully, the
occasional appearance will pique your interest more.
Speaking of WWIVcon/95, hello again to those I met there. I look forward to
meeting even more of you in '96.
With v4.24a and net35, the new gateway routing method is fully implemented.
Instead of the awkward "ICENET #1 AT 1 @4000", you can now specify
"1@1.icenet@4000". (Of course, the old method is still supported.) You've
probably already seen this appear on many gated subs.
The current plan for subs.* updates is that the updates will go out around the
first of the month, with pings sent out starting around a week and a half
before that. If you want your subs listed, you do NOT have to email anyone.
Just set up the subs for "auto-info" in //boardedit, and they'll be
automatically listed in the next subs.* update.
There is also a new de1.exe available for WWIVnet (WWIVDE1.ZIP on my system).
Note that you do __NOT__ need this, if your current de1.exe is working. Some
people have been having problems with the somewhat older de1.exe locking up
their systems (very few), and this updated version will not do that. I have
no clue why the older version locked up, but re-compiling the same code with
BC++4.0 as opposed to BC++2.0 apparently solves the problem. Don't ask me, I
only work here.
-=■=-
───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ Soft Servings │
│ News from WWIV Software Services │
│ By Sam (WWIVnet 1@4051) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-=■ WWIV 4.24a is Released! ■=-
Here is a list of fixes/additions included in 4.24a:
1) "Filename" prompts mean one file, "FileSpec" means wildcards allowed.
2) The disable pause when shrinking option now works.
3) You can use the root dir on a drive for a BBS dir (data, etc), but
you should avoid that unless the drive is SUBST or ASSIGNd.
4) New instance state of "GetUser" now supported.
5) DNM (Direct Network Mail) logons are allowed during net-only times.
6) New net35+ gating format (user@nodenum.netname) supported.
7) /A would sometimes get confused about if you have dir conferences
or not; that is fixed.
8) /O with files in batch queue would log off after the xfer; now it does.
9) Modem initialization errors are now verbosely described,
"(Error)...", not "(4)...".
10) Duplicate phone number checking sometimes logged erroneous
messages; that is fixed.
11) G option in //UEDIT (re-enter user's birthdate) now has a confirm
question, so you aren't forced to re-enter the info if you hit G
accidentally.
12) Some funny file-tagging boarder displays have been cleaned up.
13) Some new SDS's have been added.
14) QWK & RIP now detect user hangups correctly.
15) Misc QWK & RIP display quirks fixed.
16) RIP now supports the default-to-yes prompts.
17) RIPDRIVE support has been made easier and less confusing.
18) RIP_DIR wwiv.ini flag sets rip menu directory
19) If remote RIP logon info gets corrupted, the caller can now enter
it manually (as opposed to having all three logon attempts rejected
without user intervention).
And a repeat of the release notification:
WWIV v4.24a will be officially released on Sat Sept 16th at 8am PDT. The
shareware (pre-compiled) version will be freely distributable, but the updated
source code and the "mod" file giving the v4.24->v4.24a changes may be
distributed _ONLY_ on SDS's (to those having valid SDS access). Updated
versions of the docs and RIPDRIVE will also be released on that date, and they
may (obviously) be freely distributed.
The ONLY people authorized to distribute the source code are:
Node # Name Phone # Modem type State
1 Amber 310-798-9993 28.8+HST CA
310-798-8283 14.4+HST
4 Caesar's Palace 805-494-3003 14.4+HST CA
1250 The Clone Builder BBS 619-728-0541 28.8+HST (2 lines) CA
2100 The M&M Factory 314-861-1820 28.8+HST MO
2610 FarPoint Station 618-235-9303 28.8+HST IL
2720 Ko Ro Ba 813-237-0152 14.4+HST FL
4000 The Dragon's Den 210-631-5841 28.8+HST TX
4020 The Dragon's Den II 210-631-9417 28.8+HST TX
4051 Sam's BBS 409-729-1319 28.8 TX
409-729-1418 28.8(V.fc)
4340 The Resource Center 812-877-4342 28.8+HST IN
5150 Murphy's Law 910-649-7004 28.8 NC
6000 The Funny Farm (East) 704-553-8090 28.8+HST NC
6050 The Sandbox ][ 704-480-0456 28.8+HST NC
8412 Colossus 703-532-1438 14.4 VA
11000 Maxie's Toy 209-526-5899 14.4 CA
11314 Erana's Peace 303-755-1884 28.8+HST CO
12170 Paragon 716-592-5910 28.8+HST NY
14100 The Garage 509-483-0042 14.4 WA
20358 Permanent Vacation 514-487-7467 28.8 QC-CAN
20750 Purgatory BBS 306-665-0274 28.8 SAS-CAN
And in Japan (011-81):
4411 Blazing Inferno 611-733-1165 28.8+HST Okinawa
611-733-4807 28.8
-=■=-
-=■ WWIV Software Services Announces a Price Reduction for Netup! ■=-
Registration for NetUp (network bbslist/connect updating software) has been
re-priced, from $300, to $100.
The detailed info on netup is:
The netup software is available for purchase for use on other (WWIVnet-type)
networks for $100.
A netup registration will get you netup.exe, de?1.exe, and en?1.exe. (The ? in
the filenames are dependent upon the name of the network. They should be
renamed to just de1.exe and en1.exe before use.) The de1.exe file should be
distributed to all nodes in the network. The en1.exe and netup.exe programs
should only exist on the NC's system, and should not be given out.
Netup will allow you to set up, run, and maintain your network in the same way
that the WWIVnet network is. The netup.exe program is the same program as is
used in WWIVnet for sending updates (the de1.exe and en1.exe, of course, are
different).
Before registering netup for use on a network, you should already have your
network up and running, with at least 30 systems, running for at least a few
months. (It isn't worth registering netup for only a few nodes. Running for
a few months before using netup will allow you to understand how networks run,
and what files need to be updated.) If you want to run your own network with
just a few nodes, the easiest method is to set up a subboard where you
periodically post the bbslist and connect files, and have the sysops manually
update those files on their system.
Netup will NOT help you initially set up a network, nor does it contain docs
or support to help you do so. Netup will only be useful after you have a
network up and running.
Group en/de files (en257/de257, etc) are also available, for $20 each. You can
order them at the same time as netup, or later on. If later, be sure to
indicate for which network.
All files (the initial netup/en1/de1 package, plus any optional group en/de
files) will be downloaded from my system (@1.WWIVnet,
310-798-9993/310-798-8283), from an xfer dir with access limited to me and you
only.
All en/de files (for NC and GCs) support pkzip compression internally, and use
RSA/MD5 digital signatures. The source-verified messages are not encrypted.
With the key lengths used, the source-verification is unlikely to be forgeable
by even a major corporation in under a decade or so of concerted effort.
The WWIV Net Update Software (Netup) is designed to provide an independent
WWIV-based network with the ability to have network updates sent out by a Net
Coordinator (NC) and to permit regional coordinators to send updates to the
NC. Each network that registers this software has a unique encoding scheme
which prohibits the program from working on any other network. The software
is sold for the exclusive use of the individual or organization to whom it is
registered, on one network, and may not be used by anyone else, nor may the
ownership be transferred to another person or organization.
The registration of this software entitles the software to be upgraded as
necessary to remain compatible with the latest version of NETxx, the WWIV
network software used on WWIVnet. No other representation or warranty is
expressed or implied by the program.
-=■=-
Questions and Answers About RIP and Various Issues
<Editor's Note: The following is an exchange that has recently taken place on
a regional Sysop Sub. Hopefully it will clarify some questions that have been
asked on several subs.>
Q:
Since things have been OMINOUSLY quite out of your own subs, Filo, I'll take a
chance and reply to you here.
A:
I see at the bottom of your letter that you think that I am running the
National Sysop Sub (S.A.L.T.). I am not and have never run that sub. It is
being run by @4 and has been for about 2 years. @4 no longer lives in the
immediate Los Angeles area and apparently his board is not connecting with @1
as often or regularly as it did when the two were local to each other. I
think that and possibly auto-validation of that sub combine to cause the
delays that you are speaking of. While I do have a few dead or relatively
dead subs, most of the ones that I host are alive and well. The two most
popular subs that I host (based on number of subscribers) are Subtype 2370
(Mod Net) and WSS (WWIV Software Services Sub) where Random and I make
announcements about new releases and/or new products and other general
information. It is designed to be a low volume sub as posting by others is
not allowed and such posts if made are deleted at the host system.
Q:
How's the "Ripping out of Rip" coming?
A:
It is not "coming" because we have no such project under way. We intend to
continue to work with RIP and develop that interface. Where possible, we
will make it as easy as possible for people to take it out if they desire to
do so. The BBS functions quite well whether RIP is used or not. Further,
because of the way that RIP is overlaid, it is not taking up space in memory
when it is not used.
Q:
You might think I'm crazy for saying that, but based on many, many comments
I've read on over a dozen different WWIV sysop bases on more than one
network...a heck of a lot of people currently using WWIV do NOT -- and I
repeat NOT -- like what including RIP in WWIV has done to the software.
A:
I have noted perhaps as many as 30 sysops who have vocally complained about
RIP. Some complain because they have not figured out how to make it work for
them (hopefully the 4.24a release will help in that regard), and others have
complained because it "interfered" with their modding. I believe that part
of their problem is their insistence upon removing every line of code that
references RIP. If RIP is not installed, those lines of code are
non-operative, do not need to be removed, and do not interfere with mods that
might be made. Based on my discussions with Wayne about this, it seems that
most of them must be somewhat incompetent in their modding skills or they
have not taken the time to really study the code to see how RIP is
implemented and what effect it has when it is not installed. Again, I repeat
the observation that we realize we cannot make all people happy all the time.
I can still remember the complaints about the adding of two-way chat into the
bbs.
Q:
RIP, as implemented in 4.24, was a lousy idea.
A:
Taking it out at this point might be an equally lousy idea. See my comments
above and realize that we cannot ever hope to make all people happy no matter
what we do. If we try to make everyone happy, we will go crazy. So, we try
to make those decisions which seem to help (or be wanted) by the largest
number of sysops, those decisions that help to keep us the most competitive
with other bbs softwares out there, and those decisions which, if not wanted,
actually harm the least number of people.
Q:
But I've seen all too many people who don't like RIP, will NOT use RIP, and
are having a hell of a time with other mods because of RIP.
A:
Please identify one or two of these people and the nature of their problem.
Are they people who really understand the BBS code, the RIP function, etc?
Please understand that I do not pretend to understand these things myself,
but based on the comments of people whose coding abilities I do respect,
their feeling is that complaints such as those you mention are coming not for
"real" programmers or from any serious modders but from people who are
wanting to dabble with modding the code without lack of understanding of how
the bbs really operates. I, personally, am not even competent to judge which
camp is correct, so I have to base my opinion on the result that seems to be
produced by each group. Whereas there are a lot of people who make mods,
there are only (in my opinion) about 15 people who are making substantial,
regular contributions in the form of mods and who are striving for truly
original modifications to the bbs.
Q:
I speak of this here and now because of your comment above -- "that we did
not hear of a lot of demand for it and we have been working on other projects
that we felt were more important to the body of WWIV sysops".
Well, fine. What, may one ask, ARE those projects?
A:
One of the more important projects that we have been working on and which is
now ready for sysops as soon as Wayne and I finish documenting it
sufficiently is the NGTRANS program. This will allow WWIV sysops having a
UNIX shell account with an internet provider to send/receive both Internet
News Groups and Internet E-mail. In terms of our (WWIV) maintaining a
competitive position in the bbs world and in terms of satisfying requests from
100's of sysops for such a feature, this has assumed a large priority in our
project list. The next project on this list is to get WWIVEdit revised and
made more compatible with the many versions of multi-taskers available on the
market.
Q:
Has a true "demand" really been determined? How was demand determined? Has
anyone EVER surveyed the WWIV sysop community to propose a list of possible
new features, and allowed space on a survey for commentary on WHY people may
want -- or may NOT want -- to see certain features?
A:
We have not done any substantial surveys. We do not have the budget or the
staff to conduct such surveys. There are over 100 WWIV based networks in the
world and we are only participating at the current time in 4 of them. Our
access through those 4 networks is to approximately 2000-2200 sysops. That
number represents less than one-third of the totality of all registered WWIV
sysops. So, even if we attempted to survey WWIV sysops on those networks, we
would not contact all of the WWIV sysops. Further, when I have surveyed the
WWIVnet bbs community on different issues, I find that I am luck to get a 10%
to 15% response rate to the survey. Thus, this attempt often results in our
making decisions that affect all WWIV sysops based on the divided input of
two or three hundred sysops.
Wayne and I do get a lot of e-mail from sysops and we try to respond to it.
We try to take it into consideration when we make decisions. I read a lot of
sysop oriented subs and try to pay attention both to what sysops are saying
as well as what sysops are saying in response. In other words, I try to
consider both sides of a particular discussion. This does not mean that I do
or ever will make perfect decisions. Like most folks, I make mistakes.
However, I do make a effort to take all of these things into consideration
rather than looking only to my own desires. I think given budget, staff, and
the general reluctance of the sysop community at large to respond to surveys
that we are doing the best that we can to consider these many divergent
points of view.
Q:
The RIP *may* have been an interesting feature to some people. The online
GIF viewing MAY be an interesting feature to some people. But implementing
ANY feature in such a way that it makes life a "merry hell" for someone who
only wishes to do 'normal' level of modification (normal, as in adding a new
command, or a new feature or two to a menu, without all the complications
introduced with the current implementation of RIP) is an ominous sign...a
sign that things are rolling downhill unchecked, and may well crash at the
bottom of the hill if they don't watch out.
A:
If you really want to have input on a major decision that I think we must
make soon, address the question of the format that WWIV should take in order
to survive in a very competitive world of world-wide communications. Should
we remain a dos-based bbs system? Should we continue to cater primarily to a
single-line hobbyist bbs market? Should we put efforts behind an OS/2 based
BBS, a Windows based BBS, an NT based BBS, a Unix bbs, a Linux bbs. Should
we anticipate that sysops will remain satisfied with connecting to primarily
a local user base via a phone line or will the majority want full-time
connections to the Internet so that their bbs is used by millions of people
(possibly) from all over the world? These are VERY REAL important issues
facing us at WSS. The decisions that we make on these crucial issues will
affect all of you in one way or another. These are, IMO, the big issues
where we need good, logical, rationale discussions that give full
consideration to the issue, to the underlying technical considerations, and
to the impact of a choice on everyone else. Issues such as whether or not
RIP should be continued, ripped out (pun intended), and/or whether or not
people should be able to view Gifs on-line are simply inconsequential in
terms of the types of decisions mentioned above.
Please understand that I am not saying that concern about RIP or Gifs is
unimportant. If sysops are concerned about them, then they are important and
Wayne and I want to give consideration to them. On the other hand, they
truly are somewhat inconsequential when viewed next to the question of (say,
for example) whether or not we should plunge neck deep into Windows
programming to produce a bbs with superior graphics, storage, sound, etc.,
that may (or may not) be capable of being tied to the InterNet 24 hours a day
with perhaps no phone lines for local users, that may involve the use of DLL
libraries and files so that the entire thing becomes more of a flexible GUI
interface. Further, look 10 years down the road.....if Bill Gates is
successful in what he is doing, then the real game will be in a BBS (for lack
of a better word) system that interfaces with the cable TV network and that
is accessible to people who sit on their couches and cruise the
communications world using input devices similar to sophisticated remote
controls. We will be capable (in such a world) of having bbses where users
can chat with each via voice while seeing each other's picture. It will be a
world that is hard to imagine. Such world-vision type things are currently
being tested on very limited scales in about 5 US communities with
approximately 200 selected families within each area. How will WWIV fit into
that world? What should we be doing now (in terms of the abilities that we
should be learning) to acquire the knowledge and expertise to take WWIV into
that world. I told Wayne that I would like to set the goal of having WWIV be
the first BBS to be accessible in that medium; however, neither of us have a
real clue as to how to get from here (where we are today) to there. These
are the areas where you can make an impact. Your impact will not be felt by
saying "I want this" or "We should/should not have that", but rather by
helping us to absorb the new information technology that is out there, sift
the data to make it information, and then help us identify the consequences
of various decision options so that we make the right, the best choice for
those using WWIV.
Q:
Filo, I say these things to you because you have become the "Main Voice" of
WWIV in most forums. Just "adding this" and "adding that" has been leading
to a lot of problems down the road...problems that are building things up to
a point where many people may start throwing up their hands and saying "I
just can't deal with the way WWIV is going anymore -- for all that I love the
software, and the nets, it's getting harder and harder to be constantly
"rebuilding" each rev to get it back to where you had it before the latest
code release..."
A:
I understand what you are saying. Think how those people will feel as we
start to make decisions such as those outlined above. Please help us to get
the information that we need, to consider the effects of important decisions,
and to have the wisdom needed to make those types of decisions. I am sorry
that you have the concept that we have just "added" here and there. While
there is some truth to that, it not totally justified for we do consider how
various things fit into the design of things. Wayne is very good at that
from a technical perspective.
Q:
On another note: I've not received any posts in #1 Sysop sub for quite some
time. The last post I have was dated August 22 and came from Sam. Why have
no new messages come through? I have heard you say that if you need to go
out of town your son will validate messages on your sysop subs...but since
I've been seeing postings from you on subs you DON'T host in the past week or
so, I have to wonder why no posts are coming through from subs you DO host.
A:
As I mentioned at the top of this message, I do not and never have hosted the
sub that you refer to. Some subs that I host are:
SubType Name of Sub
2370 WWIV Modifications Net Sub (mods only)
2050 Mod Talk & Requests *
3677 Tech and Mod Help *
12050 G-Fours (Group Four Sysop Sub) *
12620 WWIV User's Guide (Q&A) *
22050 WWIV New Sysops Forum *
9999 Alternate #1 Sysop's Sub *
600 WWIV / Fido NetSex Discussion *
42050 Person-to-Person *
43314 AC/GC Sub
8754 WWIV On-Line Game Sub *
5300 NetWork Concerns
WW4CON Discussion of WWIVcons *
EBRNFO Electronic Book Reader Information (IceNET & WWIVLink)
WSS WWIV Software Services
* = Autorequestable
-=■=-
───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ Future Considerations │
│ for WWIV │
│ By Emerald Lady (WWIVnet 1@9201) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
[Editor's Note: This is a lengthy article I received from Emerald Lady
basically regarding the Question and Answer piece immediately preceding this
article. In the interest of brevity, I removed some portions of it where
Emerald Lady had quoted much of the above text. Emerald Lady brings up several
good points in this article.]
Point Zero -- It's much easier to hack code than to find out what the user
really wants.
Point One -- It's much easier to hack code than to tell people how to use it.
Point Two -- It's much easier to hack code than to plan how to implement it so
that the people who may need to work with it for modifications and changes can
consistently find their way around in it.
You say you note perhaps 30 sysops who have complained about RIP in one way or
another. Given the ratio of "lurkers versus doers" in BBSing in general, what
would that bode to you in terms of numbers? How many boards subscribe to Mod
Talk and you NEVER see a post coming from that system? The vast majority
seems to keep pretty darned quiet, be they sysops or users.
You say that you have had complaints about people not understanding the RIP.
See point 1 and point 2. Documentation may not have been good enough that the
*least common denominator sysop who tried to mod* was able to understand it.
You have to remember that like teachers, you _cannot_ just gear things towards
"the best and the brightest" and hope that the ones who have problems A) have
the nerve to speak up and SAY "I have a problem"; and B) have enough of the
right kind of skills to be able to _determine_ that they have a problem. In a
general release product, documentation _MUST_ be written in the most "Idiot
Proof" way as possible. Not all users of a software program have the same
level of comprehension.
Regarding "your discussions with Wayne regarding how modders work with RIP" --
See points 1 and 2. Now really, Filo -- is that a fair statement? "If people
can' t see it my way, then they're incompetent."? As I said before, not
everyone _can_ study an uncommented scrap of code and remember how each and
every possible function in tens of thousand lines of equally undocumented
code functions in the myriad of interrelationships!
If you (read that as "WWIV Software") want to implement ANY features, first and
foremost they _must_ be documented well enough that the guy who's only going to
get a "C" (no pun intended) in modding -- and that with a lot of sweating --
can read the docs and work his way through things when they don't go right.
Now how "point 2" fits here. It's much easier to hack the code than to figure
out how it works...or how to explain it to someone who can't 'hack' on the
same level as the best and the brightest.
You said, "they have not taken the time to really study the code to see how RIP
is implemented and what effect it has when it is not installed." Think about
what you've said here, as well. SHOULD everyone who ever attempts to put a
mod in WWIV be REQUIRED to read each and every line and approach it as a Ph.D.
paper so that they can understand how to put in an extra command on a menu?
If that level of "study" is necessary, it's no wonder that sysops would give up
and gravitate toward something that's less taxing to customize...and that
remains backward compatible revision to revision so that they don't have to
study for that Ph.D. every year or so when a totally "rewritten and
uncommented" version of WWIV hits the streets.
In order to properly address the comment above (about "If we try to make
everyone happy, we will go crazy. So, we try to make those decisions which
seem to help (or be wanted) by the largest number of sysops, those decisions
that help to keep us the most competitive with other bbs softwares out there,
and those decisions which, if not wanted, actually harm the least number of
people.") I need to continue on t o another part of your message...for you DID
make a statement about "addressing the needs of the majority".
* Has a true "demand" really been determined? How was demand determined?
* Has anyone EVER surveyed the WWIV sysop community to propose a list of
* possible new features, and allowed space on a survey for commentary on
* WHY people may want -- or may NOT want -- to see certain features?
A couple of paragraphs ago you said that "trying to make everyone happy would
be just not feasible"...or words to that effect. By your own words, you have
a small sample to work with -- access to 1/3 (by your count) of the "living
rooms" that could, in theory, "view your program"...and of that 1/3, you've
only gotten a very small sample as a response to any particular thing
that's going on.
And I've talked about "the silent majority". By your own count, over 2/3 of
the WWIV sysops out there aren't within your sphere of contact -- that's 2/3
of your (current) marketplace that isn't even getting the chance to respond
with likes and dislikes! I, personally, wonder quite a bit what those 4,000
WWIV sysops who've registered the program may be thinking now...
Like it or not -- it's IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF WWIV SOFTWARE to be AWARE of
what its users think of it!!! This is the essence of my "Point Zero -- It's
much easier to hack code than to find out what the user really wants."
The questions you ask are good ones...but they are WAY, WAY premature. The
reason I say this? See Point Zero. At this point, do you know what you HAVE?
Do you know what market you CURRENTLY serve? Do you know the demographics of
your Sysop community? Do you know THEIR likes, their dislikes, their uses of
the software as it sits?
Do you know what your CURRENT users want? For now, FORGET what's out there in
the ether. Think about what's NOW. What *IS* your market? Is it hobbyists?
If it is, then what's wrong with that? I for one consider myself to be just
that -- a computer hobbyist who's learned from the ground up what makes a
computer tick. I do not claim to know all things about all parts of one - but
I do make the claim that I can look at a program, fool with it, figure out
how it works...all from "command line interface".
You *REALLY* want to know what'd make the WWIV software more popular? Pretty
simple answer, really: Clean it up so that the features it currently has are
DOCUMENTED -- both in the code and in the separate 'doc file' -- so that
anyone can look at either the vanilla code, OR the precompiled version, and
know exactly what each feature is, what it does, and how he can customize it
if he is of a mind to customize his board. I don't expect you to teach a
class in C -- but the C you're giving out needs to be CLEAN C, so that someone
who doesn't know "WWIV C" instead of "ANSI C" can figure out what it is and
what it does...and how it does it.
Clean it up. Get rid of 'leventy-seven different ways to "print a line of
text to the screen". That's the movement I've seen with the "COMMON" mods
that some groups have been doing -- make a baseline module of functions and
have things that can be created to "hook" into that baseline so that the
person trying to customize their board never HAS to know all 'leventy-seven
different "print" functions. That way, all the person playing with code needs
to concentrate is how a _section_ -- a *clearly defined section* -- of code
works in order to do his own thing on a particular feature he's trying to
modify.
As I said before: You have to have a GOOD, CLEAN PRODUCT to START WITH before
you can go in ANY new direction. For all that WWIV is popular now...it's not
very "pretty" in its internal construction. In fact, from everything I can
gather, when you compare it to known "C" standards of programming (ANSI) it's
downright UGLY. Ugly to use. Ugly to modify. Ugly to try to define just
what it is, and how it works. And part of that "ugliness" makes it bloody
difficult to assess what it IS, much less what it CAN be.
Until you know what your _supporters_ want, how can you have a clue what
direction to take? I repeat -- it's time to find out. See Point Zero. Until
you know what people WANT, you can't make any plans.
I got into WWIV the way any person with a modem and a term program might find
it -- luck of the draw. I called a system that decided to run WWIV. And you
know what? I fell in love with it from the very start.
What did I like? It wasn't features, per se, from the user point of view. It
was the _people_ out there in WWIVLand that made me want to see more....and
that made me know that the only BBS software I'd consider running was the
software that gave me that type of people.
The people in WWIVLand are, like it or not, a "small town". There aren't many
of us, and we get to know each other pretty quickly if we're active users. We
are a small enough community that we _do_ get to know each other to a degree.
We are not part of that faceless mass of (in)humanity that's being portrayed
as "cyberspace" (Internet, AOL, Prodigy, etc. etc. etc.) We are a small group
of pretty decent people who get together to talk about stuff.
Hey, what's wrong with that? If I *wanted* Internet, I'd sign up for an
account with the "buck an hour" provider down the street. If I *wanted*
Prodigy, or AOL, I'd pay my money and sign up for it. But you know what? I
LIKE WWIV and the way it FEELS...WAY too much to EVER suggest that it SHOULD
become part of that faceless, nameless dreck that one finds on the "pay
services".
I was born and raised in a small town. For what it's worth, small towns
aren't bad. They're just different from NYC or LA, that's all. Just as
people choose to move to the "big city", people will *always* want the things
that can be found only in a small town.
If you feel that WWIV *must* join that faceless mass...then that's your
decision. As long as WWIV software is available in any way, shape, or form in
its current incarnation...and as long as there is a WWIV compatible (in its
current style) NET out there...I'll be THERE, not "hanging about in
Cyberspace" with the masses of humanity (shades of Soylent Green!)
> I am sorry that you have the concept that we have just "added" here and
> there. While there is some truth to that, it not totally justified for
> we do consider how various things fit into the design of things. Wayne
> is very good at that from a technical perspective.
That statement I won't back down on. The code is uncommented and, by
admission, "just growed" from Basic to Pascal to C. Rather than stepping back
and assessing existing code years ago and deciding to recode things from a
more functional point of view/way of doing things, things _have_ just been
added...without, I repeat, proper commentary or documentation to make _all_
sysops who investigate WWIV code be able to work from the basis of
understanding EVERYTHING that's there because they were TOLD "what does which
operation" in a commentary.
Is WWIV so unwieldy now that modular programming is not a consideration for
the whole board? Why were Asylum and Papa Bear able to design "COMMON"
modules that they, and others, were able to use for a base for future
modifications? Is it too late to "Commonize" WWIV so that all people who want
to make neat things to share with the user community will have the same basis
to work on/from? That has been my basis for complaint about RIP. Was it
not possible, for example, to have the functions of the two types of usage
[RIP and NON-RIP] completely separate, and have it hook to a "COMMON" type of
thing, so that it was your option to use it, or NOT use it, in its entirety?
I make no more claims to being a "coder" than you do, Filo...but I do talk a
great deal with people who ARE professional code writers. And I hope I've
learned some things from listening to the stories they've told about their
work...and how TO, and NOT TO, approach programming.
Everything I've gotten on "proof of design" from the "pros" I know tells me
that coding a separate section that "hooks on" to a main set of functions is a
more flexible way of doing things...and more customizable, if I understood
them correctly. AND it's easier to know _where_ your stuff is...or so it
would seem to me...when you have to go on a "search and destroy" when you're
looking for something to try and figure out why it's not working correctly.
In summary:
No matter what product (software wise) you're trying to produce, remember my
three points:
* Point Zero -- It's much easier to hack code
than to find out what the user really wants.
* Point One -- It's much easier to hack code
than to tell people how to use it.
* Point Two -- It's much easier to hack code
than to design it such that it's consistent within itself
...so that the people who may need to work with it for
modifications and changes can consistently find their way
around in it.
To those, let me add the following...
* Point Three -- It's very easy to go in a direction
you didn't intend if you don't observe Point 0, Point
1, and Point 2.
You have to figure out what your market IS before trying to GET there.
You have to listen to what people say "in the NOW" before you can plan for "in
the FUTURE".
You must, above all, be organized to the point of absurdity in whatever it is
you choose to do -- else it'll become another mass of spaghetti that no one
can - or would want to try to - figure out.
One point that may, or may NOT, be obvious in all of this: The PLANNING stage
is the most important on any project. Only be DEFINING what it is you want,
can you then work to make it happen in the cleanest, neatest, most efficient
and easiest way to use, and understand, by the people who'll be buying it.
-=■=-
───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ The GC's Corner │
│ Notes from the Group Coordinators │
│ A Compilation │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Diseased Mind #1 @10000
My thoughts on the state of WWIVnet....Boy, talk about being ambivalent about
this subject...
On the one hand, I see WWIVnet and 'slowboat' networks in general starting to
shrink as the internet becomes both more popular and more accessible to the
general public. And the apathy level (at least in Group 10) is rising to
almost terminal levels. In the summer of 95, two of the G10 ACs resigned and
you wouldn't belive the difficulty I had getting replacements.
It is not like I'm driving them away. I have a very 'hands off' approach to
being a Group Coordinator. As far as I know, neither of the resigning Area
Coordinators had any problems with me as their GC. One left for the internet
and one left to run a pay system off of WWIVnet.
When I called for nominations for replacement ACs, I received more mail from
systems saying: "If I'm nominated, I decline; thank you," than I received
mail with actual nominations. In my opinion, that's a fairly sad statement on
the interest level these people are showing....Declining nominations in
advance!
And, of course, there is the standard complaint you're hearing more and more
from the 'oldtimers': People are too rude. It is not just the influx of many
new modemers (most of who are NOT 'computer geeks'/hackers/<insert your
own word for a person who's into computers>); it is also many people who have
been modeming for years who are in the thick of the argument as it degenerates
into sniping and general verbal combat.
On the other hand (remember waaaay back up to the top where I talked about
being of two minds on the subject of the state of WWIVnet?)....On the other
hand, I think WWIVnet provides something the internet does not provide yet: A
sense of belonging to a widespread group of people without becoming a faceless
reader in a HUGE crowd.
And another thing that I've noticed about the internet is that it is just...too
much...Too much information, mostly, and even then there's far more chaff than
wheat, so to speak. WWIVnet provides forum/format that makes it easier to
assimilate what is going on.
-=■=-
───────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ Operating WWIV through Windows 3.1 with QEMM │
│ Enchantress 1@1625 WWIVnet │
│ With assistance from: │
│ Laffin 84@1625 WWIVnet │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
This is for those that are needing help with operating WWIV in Windows 3.1.
Included is the best settings I have found for running WWIV where the users
won't even notice a lag in speed except where you might copy several files
from or to a floppy. MANY users have even commented on how fast it runs
with being ran through Windows. Even if you don't have QEMM the PIF settings
will greatly improve your BBS's speed in Windows.
I was also having problems with insufficient memory in Windows until I
removed ANSI.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS and placed ANSIALL5 and RIPDRIVE in the
BBS1.BAT. Prior to doing this the BBS was frequently crashing due to
insufficient memory in various games.
I have:
4 MEG RAM
386/40/DX
QEMM 7.0X
Windows 3.1
And a Sanyo CD-ROM
Following is my BBS1.BAT.
BBS1.BAT
ANSIALL5 FAST ON /B 0
RIPDRIVE
SET WWIV_INSTANCE=1
BBS -I1
Use the PIF Editor calling up the BBS1.BAT, working directory is the BBS
directory and the settings of:
Video Memory: High Graphics (RipDrive and some Doors use EGA/VGA graphics)
Memory Requirements: KB Required 512 KB Desired 640
EMS Memory: KB Required 512 KB Desired 1024
XMS Memory: KB Required 512 KB Limit 1024
Display Usage: Windowed
Execution: Background
Advanced Options:
Background Priority: 1000
Foreground Priority: 1000
Uses High Memory Area
Monitor Ports: Text, High Graphics, Emulate Text Mode, and Retain Video
Memory Other Options: Allow Fast Paste
Also in the Control Panel under 386 Enhanced:
Memory Timeslice (in msec); 4
I also have a 4 MEG Permanent Swap file set up through the 386 Enhanced (in
the Control Panel). The swap file is used by Windows to swap in/out memory
(it's using the hard drive as extra memory). So , you may want to
increase/reduce the swap file size dependant upon how many windows you use
during a common session.
Happy SysOping!
-=■=-
───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
│ Tips For Running WWIV Under Windows 95 │
│ By Bull Ship (1@11132) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-=■ Not to be outdone by WWIV, Microsoft Celebrates the
Release of WWIV 4.24a with a minor release of It's Own ■=-
Windows 95 and WWIV FAQ's
ver 1.0, 9/2/95
I haven't written any doc's for win95 yet... I've been trying to figure out
just what might be needed.. so far almost everything seems to work great in
the AUTO mode... just as win95 sets it up. So this is just a set of notes,
suggestions, on how to set up WWIV under Windows.
I suggest that you first install win95 and your modem IN win95... make sure it
works fine... In the modem setup make sure flow control is set to HARDWARE.
Then setup wwiv in DOS mode... make sure it's working 100% perfectly in DOS
mode (not in a win95 dos window.. but in DOS mode)... If you have problems
running WWIV when NOT running it under windows you'll definitely have problems
when running it under windows. Problems don't just go away, you need to fix
them.
Now start win95... Go to the START MENU | SETTINGS | TASK BAR... once you
have the task bar settings open, click on START MENU PROGRAM and then choose
ADD.
Go through the ADD program wizard and add WWIV (BBS.EXE, BBS.BAT, WWIV1.BAT or
whatever you use to start WWIV from DOS) as an Icon.. make sure you put it in
your STARTUP folder if you want wwiv to start up automatically when you start
Win95, otherwise put it wherever you want, even the desktop is fine.
When finished, right click on the START button and choose OPEN.. A window will
come up with a PROGRAMS icon in it... open PROGRAMS | STARTUP.. When you have
the STARTUP group open, right click on your WWIV icon (providing of course you
put the WWIV icon in your startup group, if you didn't then open the group you
did put your WWIV icon in.) If you put your WWIV icon on your desktop you can
right click on the icon to get to it's properties.
Once you have the group open that has your wwiv icon in it, right click on
your WWIV icon and select PROPERTIES from the menu option.
You'll be presented with a dialog box with 5 different pages of settings. The
only pages that have settings in them that matter to WWIV are the "Memory"
page and the "Misc" page. I've found that basically all the settings that
Win95 sets up a DOS program with work great with WWIV. There are only two
settings I've changed.. and one I changed just to meet my needs.
In the MEMORY page, I left all the settings on AUTO except the expanded memory
setting which I set to 1024 which met my needs. I also checked the PROTECTED
box which provides a little more crash protection to that DOS program window.
BTW, the only way in Win95 that I've found to provide expanded memory in Win95
is to load HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE in my CONFIG.SYS.. I used the RAM switch
with EMM386.EXE. If you do this, make sure your path for these programs point
to the copies in your WINDOWS (win95) directory.. They came with win95 and are
32bit versions of their predecessors...
Now go to the MISC section of the properties.. The only setting here I changed
for WWIV was to move the "Idle Sensitivity" slide bar all the way to the left
to LOW... I did this because I wanted to make sure that my online instance of
wwiv had a higher amount of system resources than other programs I might run.
You may not need to make this change, I may not have needed to make this
change. If you run into situations where wwiv doesn't seem to be getting
enough CPU cycles.. (runs jerky, or doesn't answer the phone in time), I'd
suggest starting with this setting and seeing if changing it helps or hurts.
BTW.. If you make more than one icon to the same instance of WWIV or if you
make a SHORTCUT to wwiv using an existing icon, be aware that any changes you
make to the properties of one icon do NOT get transferred to the next icon.
Each icon is treated as a separate access to a program with the assumption
being that you might want to start that program differently from the different
icons. So any changes you make to an icon that starts WWIV, you need to make
to all your WWIV icons if you want each one to start wwiv with those changes.
Like I said above, I haven't had to make much if any changes to successfully
run my board in Win95. I've been running my board under Win95 for over 3
months now.
-=■=-