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<20> March This Month's Features of IceNEWS Volume 2 <20>
<20> 1993 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Issue 2 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 1. IceNET Support - By: Daryl..................... 1@5900 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 2. Stupid Problems - By: Mr. Blue................. 1@7681 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 3. How To Be a Successful Sub Moderator <20>
<20> By: Joe Kirsch aka The Fez................... 2@7653 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 4. Gating Subs. To Gate Or Not To Gate. <20>
<20> By: Sparky................................... 1@4903 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 5. Running WWIV under MS-Windows <20>
<20> Stealing Your Computer Back From The Users <20>
<20> By: Daryl A. Rodrigues....................... 1@5900 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 6. What Modem To Buy - By: Odin................... 1@7664 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 7. To Defragment, Or Not To Defragment <20>
<20> By: Rat Man.................................. 1@6255 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 8. A Blatant Attempt At Humor: <20>
<20> SysOps, BBSing, and Life. A Commentary <20>
<20> By: <20>lpine <20>ob............................... 1@7416 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> 9. Mod Of The Month: CAVEMOD3.MOD <20>
<20> By: Spelunker................................ 1@7653 <20>
<20> <20>
<20> Editors: Spelunker 1@7653 and The Fez 2@7653 <20>
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<EFBFBD> IceNET Support <20> By: Daryl (1@5900)
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Geot founded the original [ISB] system. It was intended to be a system of
BBS' that had Guest SysOp Accounts setup for IceNET SysOps to use. The
majority of systems you now see with the designator [ISB] were part of that
original system. There was however a flaw in the system, which, though not
apparent at the outset, became apparent as time drew on. [ISB] was coined as
"IceNET Support Board", a misnomer as the whole purpose was to provide Guest
Accounts and not support. Because of this some SysOps experienced dismay
when they'd call long distance only to find a few files, and in some cases
incorrect advice. Let me state that the majority of the [ISB] systems were
and still are, hosted by SysOps who never bargained for being Support Systems
but rather, believed they were assisting the growth of IceNET by supporting
IceNET SysOps with a guest account.
On February 1, 1993, or thereabouts, the Support System changed hands, a
number of dedicated SysOps, Darth Vader, Morgul, Jim Wire, and of course Jim
Nunn, teamed up and re-created the format of the system to clearly designate
Support Systems from those with Guest accounts. It is our hope that those
fine SysOps who have supported IceNET all along in their participation will
continue to do so, and that those of you who call on the [IPSS] (IceNET
Primary Support Systems) will, in every case, find the answers to your
questions and solutions to your problems.
There are two levels of IceNET Support Systems, one level is for systems that
are primarily of a WWIV support nature, and the second level for those IceNET
SysOps who are gracious enough to allow fellow IceNET SysOps access to their
files by use of a guest account.
Admission to the first level [IPSS] (IceNET Primary Support Systems) is made
by [IPSS] membership vote and shall be limited to a 1 [IPSS] per 100 IceNET
nodes. The larger IceNET grows the more [IPSS] systems will be required.
Admission to the second level [ISB] shall be made on a rolling application
basis but shall be limited to 10 [ISB] systems per 100 IceNET nodes.
The requirements for admission to both levels differ and will be outlined
below.
[IPSS] IceNET Primary Support System Requirements:
1. Must Be Operating a Full Time BBS.
2. Agrees to remain in operation for the following year.
3. Is operated by an experienced SysOp with a minimum of
one year of WWIV SysOp experience.
4. Agrees to ALWAYS have the latest WWIV Software available
for downloading. This includes WWIV BBS Software and the
WWIV Network Software.
5. Must have at minimum 30 Megs of WWIV Files available, and
agree to keep the WWIV File Section as current as possible.
6. It is preferred that the system be capable of running at 14,400+
7. The [IPSS] system must support Automatic Sysop Validation.
8. The applicant must subscribe to the IceNET Support Systems Sub.
[ISB] IceNET Supported Board:
1. The SysOp agrees to carry a guest account for IceNET SysOps
Directions on the Guest Account Setup follow.
2. Must have a minimum of 5 Megs of WWIV Files available though
it is not required that the files be current.
3. The SysOp agrees to notify the IceNET Support Coordinator at
their earliest convenience if they no longer wish to maintain
a Guest Account or if they can no-longer maintain the required
amount of WWIV Support Files.
4. The SysOp may elect to subscribe to the IceNET Support Systems
sub.
For a full listing of [IPSS] and [ISB] systems please E-Mail me at the
following addresses:
1@5900 IceNET, 1@15900 WWIVlink, 1@13 S-NET
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<EFBFBD> Stupid Problems <20> By: Mr. Blue (1@7681)
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I am sure all of us Sysops are familiar with the stupid problems
that sometimes occur which we can spend hours trying to resolve. When we
finally do find a solution, it turns out to be so stupid. For example, when
you plug the telephone line into the 'PHONE' jack on your modem instead of
the 'LINE' jack, and you wonder why your modem does not work.
I recently reinstalled my WWIV software, and ran into a couple
of the problems which I am sure you will find humorous. As you know,
installing a system from scratch is quite an endeavor, especially with
a multitude of source mods.
The first problem that I ran into was with my DSZ. I configured my
DSZ according to Wayne Bell's documentation in the README.422 file. I was
getting an error--line input status register 02, which, according to the DSZ
docs, is due to TSRs, usually write cache programs. I was stumped because
the only TSRs that I was running were PHONEV4, DOSKEY, and ASSIGN. All of
which I used before with DSZ and WWIV without any problem. I am using a
brand new modem supporting buffered I/O. I couldn't imagine what was wrong.
I downloaded a fresh copy of DSZ directly from Omen, and even registered it.
I asked Jim (IceNET 1@1) for his DSZ strings and used them. Still, I
consistently encountered this error. I even reinstalled DOS replacing my
QEMM with HIMEM.SYS and EMM386. Still no luck. I changed my port
configuration from 57,600 to 38,400 and tried several MDM files thinking
that perhaps it was my modem configuration. I decided to run PCProbe
landmark because recently things have been kind of slow running, and to my
amazement, it reported 8Mhz speed! I then opened up my machine and noticed
that my turbo connector wire came off, and this must have happened when I
installed my modem. I reconnected it and I was back up to my normal speed.
No more DSZ errors....
The second problem that I encountered concerned the CHAT available
status. I installed a new chat password mod that I found and had installed
it on my development system. It was working fine, so I copied onto my BBS.
The funny thing is that on the BBS, no matter what, I could not toggle chat
on. I was always unavailable. So, I took out my nice little mod and still
the same thing, always unavailable. Well, the scroll lock light was on and
everything. I changed out the keyboards... still no luck, gave up and the
next day I went into my INIT and saw that my Sysop low time and high time
were set to be from 5:00-11:00AM. I meant for it to be PM, but forgot to
make it in military time!! I zeroed those out and all works fine!
Remember... the next time you have a stupid problem, look for the
obvious things first before you look for a complex solution.
Rob (Mr. Blue), Dementia Praecox, 716-634-6927
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<EFBFBD> How To Be a Successful Sub Moderator <20> By: Joe Kirsch aka The Fez (2@7653)
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This text has been written to assist those who are either currently
moderating a network sub or those who may wish to do so at some point in
time. The following is a list of suggestions to aid those in the task of
moderating. These are, for the most part, common-sense tips that I've
learned while acting as a network sub moderator myself.
Remember, these are only suggestions and not rules of any kind. A person has
the right to moderate a sub in whatever manner they wish, provided the sub
conforms to any established network rules. It is my belief that by following
the suggestions below a moderator will, at least, stand a good chance of
running a successful and popular high-quality sub.
* * *
The first thing you need to do as a moderator is set up and post a written
set of rules for your sub. This sounds like an obvious statement, but you'd
be amazed how many moderators never take the time to do this. You must
determine definable and consistent parameters for topic(s) of discussion to
be posted about in your forum. Other decisions that need to be made are such
things as what type of language is allowed, if the sub should be flagged
with certain restrictions for subscribers (such as adult, male/female-only,
age limit, SysOps-only, etc.), if BBS taglines or random titles should be
allowed, etc.
Keep in mind when creating a new forum that it your topic should not
conflict with an existing sub already devoted to that topic. By creating a
"duplicate" forum you would not always be able to maximize subscribership
due to competition from the pre-existing forum. It won't help your cause
out to start up a sub for posting about skateboarding when two or three
established subs are already devoted to that topic. Be original!
Once this has been done, the rules should be posted on the sub for all to
read. This text should also be periodically be re-posted to accommodate new
subscribers as well as users who may be new to the forum. Another suggestion
to those who have their subs set up to be AutoRequestable is to include the
rules text with the automated add-request response. This will also let the
subscribing SysOp know of your rules for the sub that he/she has just
subscribed to and allow him/her to take any steps concerning the sub that
the SysOp may feel are necessary.
Once your rules are set, do not vary from them! There may be times where
situations may dictate making addendums to your rules, but specific rules
should never be deleted or discarded once they've been posted. Do not allow
certain users or friends to bend or break these rules you've set. If you do,
then the rules you've made are useless and the time and effort you put into
creating them was wasted.
To allow users to bend, break, or ignore posted rules is hypocrisy and will
send a sign to the other readers of your forum that you don't really care
what they do there. A lack of consistency could also cost your subscribing
systems because the subscribing SysOp is unhappy with the content of your
forum. Be true to your rules!
The rules that you've laid down must also be enforced by you and you alone.
Do not rely or impose upon subscribing SysOps to enforce your rules for you.
Rules enforcement should be the sole responsibility of the moderator.
The sub should be network validated by the moderator. There are those
moderators who prefer to have each individual subscribing system network
validate posts on their respective systems. Others feel that there is no
need to network validate messages at all. My belief is that a moderator
should be in active control of their own forum and be solely responsible
for its content.
IMHO, a moderator allowing someone else to decide what posts go out on
THEIR sub is the same thing as a newspaper editor letting the paperboys
decide what stories get printed in the evening edition of the paper that
they're delivering. My strong belief is if you don't have either the time
or sense of responsibility to network validate your own forum, then you
shouldn't be moderating it and should allow someone else who has the time
or feeling of responsibility to do so.
Don't be afraid to delete unsuitable posts. From time to time you may run
into a post that doesn't fit the criteria you've established for your forum.
If this happens, you may take a number of courses. You could alter the post
(deleting any unsuitable language or subject matter) then re-post it stating
the post has been edited by the moderator. Another option is to simply
delete the post entirely. A third, but undesirable, option is to allow the
post to go out to the subscribers as it is written. This last option should
never be used lest the moderator wishes to show the readers of the forum
that it's alright to disregard the established rules.
In any case, e-mail should be sent from the moderator to the user who posted
the message in question informing the user that the moderator had a problem
with the post and explain to the user whatever action was taken by the
moderator. Also, a text of the sub rules for posting should be included in
the mailing.
Aside from simply being a courtesy, this could help out the moderator in
the long run. If the user decides to contest the action and complains to
the moderator about it, this will most likely happen in the form of an
auto-reply to the e-mail sent by the moderator and will be kept off of
the forum. The moderator and the user may then discuss the problem without
clogging the forum with distracting and counter-productive posts regarding
the problem.
Be fully prepared to delete a subscribing system that you are having
consistent problems with. If you're having a problem with the posts of a
particular user/users from a particular system, you should contact the SysOp
of that system explaining your problem. Ask the SysOp to limit or deny access
of your forum to the user/users in question. Be sure to include a copy of
the offending post or posts as well as your rules for the forum to the SysOp
to show him/her that the user/users violated existing policy for posting on
your forum.
If the SysOp of the system you're having a problem with is unable or
unwilling to work with you on the problem, simply remove that system from
your subscriber list and inform the SysOp of the deleted node of your action.
Take an active role in moderating your forum. While there are certain types
of forums that will essentially take care of themselves (ie. general
discussion forums), most will require a certain amount of prodding and
re-directing by the moderator to stimulate posts relevant to the subject
matter of the forum.
One method I've found to work is to ask for the opinion of your users on a
topic relevant to the subject matter of your forum, but general enough to
allow for a maximum number of responses. Let's say, for the sake of
argument, that you are moderating a sub for the discussion of films. One
question a moderator could put to the readers would be something like "are
sequels to popular films really needed, or even wanted, by the public?" A
question like this would be sure to bring numerous and varied responses from
the users. Do this on a regular basis and you will have a very active sub.
Weigh the quality against the quantity of new posts. A moderator likes to
see new posts on their forum, but the ultimate goal of a moderator is to
make certain that the conversation doesn't stray too far from the topic of
the sub. Imagine the surprise of a new subscribing nodes' SysOp and users
when they discover posts speaking about baseball when your forum is supposed
to be for the discussion of football.
A moderator also has to consider the relevance of the new posts, as well
as their format. It is somewhat common to find posts that were made "with
regards" to a previous post. Posts of this nature often contain a quote
(in whole, or in part) from the message it was regarding. What should be
looked at by the moderator is the size of both the quote and the response.
Sometimes a user will quote a 20-line message in it's entirety, while only
giving a one or two line response.
A moderator may wish to establish set rules regarding the maximum amount of
lines a user may quote in a post as well as a minimum number of lines for
response. A very good reason for implementing such a rule would be cut down
on meaningless one-line posts like "I agree!" or "Yeah, I think that's
really cool!" and other such nonsense. Another reason would be to aid in
keeping the network information packets as small as possible by limiting
excessive quotes. This would help save costly telephone transmission time
for everyone that has to handle the packets for your forum.
Advertise your sub. A moderator should wish their forum to reach as many
users as possible. To do this, you MUST advertise! Each network usually has
a sub devoted to the posting of ads for other network subs. Subscribe to
it. If you're a moderator who isn't a SysOp, request that the host system
subscribe to the advertisement sub. If there isn't an established network
sub advertisement forum, host one! Post regular ads on the sub to "sell"
your forum to other systems on the network.
Another option that is now more widely available to moderators is the option
of "gating" their forum to multiple networks to increase subscribers. Most
networks have established policies regarding the use of the "gating" feature.
It is the moderator's responsibility to ensure that the he/she know and
follow the established policies. Also, one should consider the "competition"
factor discussed earlier when deciding in "gating" a sub to multiple networks.
* * *
It is my sincere hope that this text has thoroughly covered the aspects and
responsibilities of moderating a successful forum. I also hope that this
will prove to be some measure of help to those who wish to moderate a sub.
I welcome any questions and/or feedback regarding this article. Responses
should be addressed to #2 @7653 IceNET.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(Editor's Note: Joe Kirsch is Co-SysOp of The Cavern BBS IceNET @7653 and
is SysOp in charge of the message bases there. As The Fez, he has acted as
moderator of the IceNET sub "Strange But True Facts" for slightly more than
one year. The Fez is currently serving as moderator of the new multi-gated
forum "Star Trek: Creative" (IceNET subtype 47653) and is the moderator of
two local forums on Tower of Zot BBS IceNET @4, "The Room of Visions
[Entertainment]" and "The Colour of Space [Sci-Fi]")
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<EFBFBD> Gating Subs. To Gate Or Not To Gate. <20> By: Sparky (1@4903)
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Well there seems to be quite a controversy going on about gating subs.
I personally thought that the problems would not have gotten this far,
before people just accepted it. Well this has not happened, even though I
have heard less against gating than for it.
With all of the WWIV compatible networks going on out there simple
gating seems the only next logical step. It brings the networks closer
together and will weed out all of the "Fly-by-night" networks a little
sooner.
Then will it also hurt the larger networks? I don't really believe
so, after all ICEnet is still growing at an amazing rate. If any network
has something so special that gating a certain sub could hurt it, then
common sense says DON'T GATE IT! But still, that is up to the host of the
sub, and the Network Coordinator. I really don't believe that there are any
NC's out there who would completely disallow a host from gating a sub.
From a host's point of view, it helps generate competition to get the
good sub on the nets before anybody else. This brings out more quality subs
on all networks, also weeding out the lesser of the subs.
A big disadvantage to gating is the question, "Why join that other net?
It is just like this one." Sure, that may be true to some extent; but if a
network is worth keeping around it has to be worth something to somebody.
It is also quite good to gate subs in the local nets to increase network
activity, and sub activity. What is the use of having a sub or network that
never gets used.
All in all, as we come to an end to this rambling little article, it
is evident that gating is now occurring, and as with everything,it will work
fine as long as it's not abused. I think that gating subs is a fine addition
to WWIV, WWIVnet, ICEnet and all of the other networks out there. Hats off
to Wayne Bell for keeping WWIV on the up and up, and always looking to the
future.
Sparky, Mental Meltdown BBS, 1@4903 IceNET, 1@4903 WWIVnet, 1@1 LiquiNet
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<EFBFBD> Running WWIV Under MS-Windows <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
<EFBFBD> Stealing Your Computer Back From The Users <20> By: Daryl A. Rodrigues (1@5900)
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
Credits to Jim Wire, Life Arts Network SysOps, and Matthew (MACMODS).
Spelunker 1@7653 is the Editor for this edition of the IceNET News and had
asked that I publish something regarding operating WWIV under Windows. I'll
start by suggesting that interested SysOps subscribe to Subtype 55900 Hosted
by @5900. The sub is titled "Window Pains - WWIV<->Windows."
An important caveat to consider as you paw your way through the smoke of
misinformation and "Windows Bashing" is that the majority of those who say
Windows is useless have neither the hardware nor the need to use it. Also
WWIV is written for DOS and DOS alone, therefore problems you may have heard
about regarding running WWIV with Windows or DeskQview are problems with WWIV
not the multi-tasking systems.
Before you commit to using Windows in order to multi-task your BBS ask one
simple question "Do I need Windows for anything else", if the answer is NO,
there are many SysOps around who can help you to figure out DesQview, which
admittedly has a lower overhead and reduced hardware demands. If you, like
I, NEED to be able to use Windows applications WHILE your BBS is in use by
all means please read on.
There are three stages of assuring full compatability for WWIV with Windows,
I do not (and am not likely to) run DeskQview so I'm unable to say much about
that. Perhaps one day one of the "Mod Guru's" will make WWIV fully Windows
compatable - perhaps even Wayne Bell.
STEP 1 - Hardware
Your system must be capable of running Windows, this means a 386 or better and
a minimum of 2 Megs of RAM. Windows can run on a 286, however it will not be
able to multi-task while running WWIV (so if you have a 286 read no further -
YOU can't do it). Multi-tasking with 2 Megs of RAM will also prove to be a
frustrating experience so consider that a 386dx-33 or better and 4 Megs of
RAM as the operational minimum. I run a 486sx-25 (114Mhz Landmark) with
just 4 Megs of RAM.
16550AFN UART chips are recommended for your serial card for those of you
running external HIGH SPEED modems. If you have a newer internal you likely
have a 16550AFN built in, if not you're our of luck as I don't know of any way
to change a UART chip that's on an internal modem. The 16550AFN UART offers
an extra 16K buffer for data that's being received, which will prevent data
loss on high speed modems while multi-tasking or task switching.
One word about the 16550AFN UART cards. Not everyone needs one. I have a
very inexpensive I/O card with a 16450 chip and have little problem at all.
Others, however say the diference is like "Night and Day".
STEP 2 - Configuring Windows
Load up CONTROL PANNEL from Program manager, you meed to make two changes here,
first select PORT SETUP and make sure that you have the port that your modem
uses set to it's highest speed, and that XON/XOFF is set to HARDWARE CONTROL,
do not let Windows manage your Com Port, WWIV does that itself.
Second elect 386 ENHANCED MODE and make sure your settings for Windows are 100
FORGROUND 50 BACKGROUND and that the "Exclusive in Forground" toggle is OFF.
That should about do it. If you're capable of using 32bit access for virtual
memory please do it, however if you're using STACKER 2.0 or 2.1 NEVER use 32
bit access - 32 bit access is safe with STACKER 3.0. If by some fluke you're
using a battery powered Laptop or portable Windows will warn you about
toggling the 32bit access, and I might add you'd do well to heed the warning.
STEP 3 - Creating a PIF file
The following is my WWIV.PIF un UUCODE form, please use UUDECODE to view it.
If you don't have UUCODE please feel free to logon (sysop validation for
IceNET WWIVlink, WWIVnet, and S-NET SysOps) and download either BBS.PIF or
UUEXE513.ZIP the current version of UUDECODE/UUENCODE.
section 1 of uuencode 5.13 of file wwiv.pif by R.E.M.
begin 644 wwiv.pif
M`,]$051!*DY/4E1(*E=%4U0@0D)3("`@("`@("`@(""``(``1#I<5U=)5EQ7
M5TE6+D)!5``@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@
M("`@("`@("`@$`!$.EQ75TE6`"`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@
M("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@````````````````````
M````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
M```````!`/\94```!P``````````````````````````````````````````
M````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
M````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
M`````````.`@34E#4D]33T94(%!)1D58`(<!``!Q`5=)3D1/5U,@,S@V(#,N
M,``%`IT!:`"``F0"R`#(```$````!```"P`&`!T`````````````````````
M```````@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@
M("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@("`@(%=)3D1/5U,@,C@V(#,N,`#__QL"!@``
%````````
`
end
sum -r/size 44126/779 section (from "begin" to "end")
sum -r/size 40081/545 entire input file
This is the KEY to running WWIV with Windows, therefore you MUST follow the
conventions used in this PIF file to complete the Windows compatability end
of things. If you chose to write this file on your own you MUST call
BBS.COM not BBS.EXE or you will experience a total inability to shrink
(somewhat like my waistline since I married).
STEP 4 - Making WWIV Compatable with Windows.
If you do not have source code for WWIV you can stop here. There is nothing
else you can do. If you do you are encouraged to use MT_AWARE mod written by
Jim Wire (HIT BBS - in WWIVnet and IceNET). He has written a utility that
reports WWIV's use back to Windows so that Windows can assign clock time to
the BBS and other programs more accurately. The current version of this mod
is MT_AW300.ZIP. Again it is available on HIT BBS or at DATA*NORTH*WEST.
If you don't use MT_AWARE expect other applications to be sluggish regardless
of BBS activity. With MT_AWARE other Windows applications will run perfectly
and only slow (depending on the speed of your machine) if there is a lot of
activity on the BBS, such as a download, a user running /Z or /S.
MT_AWARE requires TASM.EXE (Borland) and is designed for TC++ compiler also
by Borland.
If you need any further assistance with running WWIV with Windows please feel
free to ask, if it's a general question I read the IceNET SysOp Forum daily,
if it's more specific to your system please E-Mail me. You are also welcome
to use SysOp validation to access any of the 60+ Megs of WWIV support files
available on DATA*NORTH*WEST, and (Shameless plug follows) if you should be
in the market for hardware please call or E-Mail for prices the sales number
is (509) 487-5612, the BBS number is (509) 487-6572. (Please don't mix the
two up :)
Author:
Daryl is 30 years old, married with one child (3<>). Far from having a
technical background, after graduate school in Seattle he worked as a
Forensic Psychologist for 6 years. In the midst of a career change Daryl
is now a full time Law Student and Business owner. He is a Board Member
of the Washington A.C.L.U., and an active intern at University Legal
Assistance. Daryl plans to enter the area of Human Rights litigation upon
graduation (and passing the Bar). He has been involved with communications
for over 10 years of which modems have been a part for 2 years.
DATA*NORTH*WEST [IPSS] has been running for 2 years and was previously
called Gonzaga Law Students' BBS.
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<EFBFBD> What Modem To Buy <20> By: Odin (1@7664)
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About 2.5 years ago, I bought my 386/25 computer. I got it through a friend
who built it for me. Everyone thought that I was wasting my money. Well, to
this day, I don't regret it. By now, you are probably wondering why I am
babbling about this. Well.........
I have had a 2400 baud modem since I bought the computer. In September of
1992, I started my BBS (The Nine Worlds of Asgard...hey a plug!) and wanted a
faster modem. I started looking at all kinds: ZoomModem, SatisFAXtion,
USRobotics, Practical Peripherals, etc..... I asked Jim (1@1) about what modem
to get and he said USRobotics. My first thought was "OOHHH $450!"
I thought that the Practical Peripherals modem was a great deal. $269, and I
would be at 14.4. The SatisFAXtion modem sounded great also. Then in January,
I order the USRobotics...why? Well...here are the reasons.
During the month of December, I kept reading the National Sysop sub and watched
all the sysops asking for help to hook up their modems properly. I kept seeing
the problems and started wondering if you get what you pay for. But I kept
thinking about the $450. Again, a very perplexing problem.
Then I decided to use a method my father came up with: How much does it cost?
How long do you plan on using it? Divide these 2 numbers and voila, is it
worth that much per year for this item. I thought 5-10 years was good round
number to use it, so then I divided $450 and got $45-90 per year. I think it
is definitely worth the deal, so I bought a USRobotics modem and I do not
regret it one bit.
Since buying my modem, I haven't had any problems. I did not need to spend
hours setting it up, and hoping WWIV would like it. I didn't have to call Jim
or any other sysop for assistance. It installed into WWIV very easily and I
can't complain about anything. I ordered it and it arrived 7 days later. In
this age of modern electronics, you get what you pay for! I feel my money was
well spent. Do you feel the same way?
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<EFBFBD> To Defragment, Or Not To Defragment <20> By: Rat Man (1@6255)
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
To some people, fragmentation is just a buzz word. But for most SysOps,
this can become a full nightmare. The effects of hard disk fragmentation,
which are serious slowdown and raised chance of media damage or destruction,
are grossly enhanced by the constant drone of a running hard disk, which
runs 24 grueling hours a day. In a matter of days to weeks, your hard disk
can become a tired slave working in a hot sweatshop, confined in the four
plastic prison walls of your computer case.
Extra fans can take care of the heat, but what of the slowdown and
constant wear and tear? Very simple solutions. Get a defragmentation
utility. Personally, I use the Norton Utilities 7.0, although I use the
Speed Disk from 6.0 because the one in 7.0 keeps locking up on me. Overall I
would suggest getting Norton Utilities because it is the easiest to use, is
the best looking, has the best features, and is the fastest running utility
I have ever seen. Along with it comes those indispensable utilities such as
the file finder and the hard disk calibrator.
But Norton Utilities can go way over $100, depending on where you get it.
There are plenty of other packages you can get that will do the same job,
although perhaps with not as many options. Defragmentors can be had for
Under $20, although the average is around $50 for a good one.
Now that you have a defragmentor, what do you do with it? While the
answer may seem obvious, the actual use of it is loaded with plenty of
decisions. All the experiences and tips I will give you will come from my
experience from The Norton Utilities, Disk Optimizer Tools, and the demo
version of Optune that I had. Here are a few helpful hints and such to have
a faster BBS right away.
* Defragment once a week. Although once a month is fine for everybody else,
your hard disk is always active, 24 hours a day, normally about 18 of
which are used moving and reading and writing data.
* Make careful decisions for the files to be placed first. Whatever is
placed first will be read fastest, so you need to choose files that are
massive and are accessed frequently. An alternative to having to choose
which files go first is explained in the next step.
* Make careful decisions about which directory to be placed first. Like
the files placed first option, the directories placed first will be read
fastest. The most likely candidate for first directory is your data
directory or your messages directory, since these can cover massive amounts
of space and are accessed very frequently. As a rule of thumb you should
not place any of your download directories first, since relatively little
time is spent reading the hard disk during a download. An alternative to
choosing directories to be placed first is explained in the last step.
* If you have an older or unreliable hard disk, be sure you engage the data
verify option! If the hard disk makes a mistake, which is common in old
or unreliable hard drives, you can lose or scramble chunks of important
data!
* Make a decision about the clear unused space option if you have it. I do
this step once in a while just to be sure no scrambled data is left behind.
It's kind of like having a shower fresh feeling. You don't really need to
do this every time though, and not at all if you feel safe.
* Run a diagnostic before using any defragmentor. I run the Norton Disk
Doctor before running Speed Disk, just in case, because of lost clusters
and such. Speed Disk can trap problems anyway, but I like to be safe. At
the very bottom of the diagnostic utilities is CHKDSK. If you have no other
disk diagnostic, at least run CHKDSK.
* Make sure you know all the features of each defragmentor. Norton Disk
Doctor, for example, writes to the FAT frequently. This can be dangerous
over long periods of time but for most hard disks this isn't a problem
since the process is over rather quickly. However, others don't write to
the FAT at all until it is done which is even more potentially dangerous.
If the power goes out for any reason while one of these are running you
are up the creek big time.
* Check with the company that makes your hard disk before running a
defragmentor for the first time. They may need to notify you of any
incompatibilities or bugs in your hard drive that can otherwise damage
the hard disk.
* Check your TSRs. Make sure none of them will interfere with the
defragmentor. A very big culprit of this are caches with a staged write
option, which is an option that buffers data that is supposed to be
written to the hard disk until the hard disk is inactive, clearing up
more time for reading from the hard disk. Be sure the staged write is
disabled, and it might be a good idea to completely disable the entire
cache. FAST! has a good way of doing this, and can be done in the
background with no problem. Actually, with WWIV you shouldn't use a
staged write at all. It's scrambled my user list at random a few times.
* Avoid Optune at all costs! I used to have this utility and it scrambled
my hard drive beyond the repair even of The Norton Utilities about 3
times! Scrambled directory names, trees, boot records, files, the works!
That should pretty much cover it. If you have any questions or comments
or anything else, my address again is 1@6255.
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<EFBFBD> A Blatant Attempt At Humor: <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
<EFBFBD> SysOps, BBSing, and Life. A Commentary <20> By: <20>lpine <20>ob (1@7416)
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<<BACKGROUND>>
The smell of the magnetic tape in the floppy drive. The constant
noise emanating from the computer fan ALL NIGHT LONG. The hum of the
monitor when you flip it on. Yes, if you actually like this stuff, you
must be a SysOp. Yes, in and out, down and up, obtuse and acute, we are the
SysOps. The proud and few, we sacrifice our time and money so that the user
population can have a thorough enjoyment of the boards that we run. We are
self-less, whole-hearted, and we just love hyphenating words that describe
us. We are a separate breed! Yep, most scientists place us somewhere
between Homo Erectus and Homo Habilus.
'Forcing a network to callout,' 'Modifying a chain,' 'Hammering out
the source,' 'Defining a macro,' and 'Deleting an inactive user.' If the
normal person heard these atrocities, they would think that you're some
kind of low-life, sub-human, (uh-oh.. starting to hyphenate those SysOp
adjectives again..), piece of sado-masochism punk. Of course, you may
be able to impress women if the network connection that was being forced
was, indeed, a long network connection.
SysOps are the shoe-horns of our communities, and, therefore, require
a very understanding family in order to prosper. For example, our kids
didn't even mind back last month when we were installing TradeWars and
forgot to pick them up from school, did they? (did they even get to school?)
And when our wife left us at 2 a.m. one night when we were having a hell of
a time setting up WWIVnet, it didn't even bother us, did it? (are we even
married?)
SysOps are the ones that set up things called NETS. Nets are things
that people can send mail over, except they don't have to pay for things
called Elvis stamps. But, if the message you want is over 200k (or lbs),
it is preferred that you go ahead and use that Elvis stamp. It's an Elvis
kinda thing...
<<SysOping as a HOBBY>>
Most SysOps become SysOps (no, they're not born with a keyboard
attached to their fingertips) because they want to have a hobby. I don't
know about any other SysOps, but I just couldn't handle any REGULAR hobbies,
like stamp collecting, or religion or something. First of all, I can't
afford to buy the new stamps that the U.S. Postal service issues every week
to mark such unmissable events as National Unmade Bed Week. Of course, as I
understand it, a REAL thrill is when a stamp is printed with a mistake, like
National Bunmade Ued Week instead of National Unmade Bed Week, which causes
stamp collectors to just about wet their polyester pants.
So, for a while now, I've had nothing in the way of a hobby. Just
for fun, I used to put 'narcotics' on my job applications, but unfortunately,
my employers (or employers-never-meant-to-be) didn't share my jovial
enthusiasm. I tried beer-drinking as a hobby, but being a minor, I found
some problems with that. I finally found a Quickie-Mart that would sell
beer to me, but unfortunately, the wise-guy made me sit down beside him and
drink it. I drank until I passed out, or until he got my wallet. Whichever
came first. (Of course, when I passed out, he got it anyways.. so I just
couldn't win)
As a nice alternative, I got into computers. I started out in March of
1991 with a 300 baud modem. That's right... a 300 baud modem. I 'upgraded'
to a 1200 that december, and got a 2400 in February of '92. It's not a lot
of fun calling board with a 300 baud modem, but it gives me an opportunity
to understand what 'those jerks' go through. Now that I'm at 14.4, I just
think to myself... aaaahhh how could I have spent that much money on a modem
when I can barely put gas in my forerunner. I feel muuuuuucch better after
that.
I liked calling BBS's a lot, so I thought that I could do it one
better by running my OWN board. Yep... stupid stupid me. I tried a number
of BBS programs. VBBS, RA, Celerity, PBBS, SBBS, and EBBS, but I think that
I found a winner in WWIV. WWIV is by far the easiest to set up and the
easiest to understand. I find the format quick to learn and easy to
understand. I just love to read the documentation. It's almost as exciting
as picking those little hairs from my nose. Upon reading the documentation
(I use a strobe light), I found a number of interesting paradoxes. Like, in
the docs where it says 'pay 50 bucks for the source.' I thought, hey! I'm
paying 7.50 a month to be in WWIVnet. Do I actually need to pay 50 bucks
for a source code? What is a source code anyways? So, I paid it. You know
what I got? A bunch of files!!! files!! What are these files, anyways? Oh
well.. I'm still amazed that I unarchived it into the right directory. (c:\)
So.. now I have this hobby. And with it I learned a lot about a brand
new language. 'BBS language.' It contains a lot of abbreviations of
various types. So, from now on, in this column, we'll devote a little
section to BBS language of all types. And on with the show....
Bob's Book of Phrases
1. IMHO - "In my humble opinion." - It's a cordial way to say, 'I know I'm
right, so just shut up and live with it, you little toad.'
2. TSIA - "Title says it all." - For those short messages that you post at 1
O'clock at night when you're debating posting a long one when all
you need to do can be done in one sentence, usually your title.
3. WWIV - "World War IV" - (1)- What we're causing. (2)- Software.
4. ASV - "Auto-SysOp Validation" - Something that SysOps erroneously think
attracts other SysOps. Often combined with GSA.
5. GSA - "Guest SysOp Account" - It doesn't get any brighter than this, does
it? An account for SysOps that don't understand ASV and are too
stupid to sign on as new and waste that precious 2 minutes of logon
time. (I've never met a WWIV SysOp that couldn't logon new in under
2 minutes on an unmodded WWIV board, even at 2400 baud)
6. GOTDCADYDH - "Get off that damn computer and do your damn homework" - Do
I really need to expand on that one? I think not.
Well.. that's it for the first edition of the column. What did you
think? Send me some mail... go on, do it. It'll make me feel better. Maybe
then I can get out of the mental ward. Don't get me wrong, Belvue has a lot
to offer, but you just need to branch out sometimes.
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<EFBFBD> Mod Of The Month: CAVEMOD3.MOD <20> By: Spelunker (1@7653)
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<EFBFBD> CAVEMOD3.MOD - The Cavern - IceNET @7653 - 716-677-0232 <20>
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ĵ
<EFBFBD> Author <20> Spelunker #1 @7653 <20>
<EFBFBD> Difficulty <20> <20>۰<EFBFBD><DBB0><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20>
<EFBFBD> Files affected <20> SUBEDIT.C, BBS.STR <20>
<EFBFBD> Version of WWIV <20> v4.22 ONLY (external strings used) <20>
<EFBFBD> Description <20> This MOD will spruce up the otherwise bland looking <20>
<EFBFBD> <20> //BOARDEDIT routine. Colorizes and puts a box around <20>
<EFBFBD> <20> the modification section. <20>
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS ENTIRE MOD BEFORE YOU START.
This mod will add a few strings to your BBS.STR file. If you are already
using these string numbers for another mod on your board, you will need to
change them here so you can use this mod. You can change the color numbers
to suit your own taste.
This mod comes with a batch file and all the strings needed for it. It is
uuencoded below. Please read the README.1ST file before you run the batch
file. Also make a backup copy of your BBS.STR file in case it writes over
strings you are already using for another section of your board.
NOTE: This file was zipped with Pkzip v2.04G. You will need a copy of it to
unzip this mod.
section 1 of uuencode 5.10 of file cavemod3.zip by R.E.M.
begin 644 cavemod3.zip
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`
end
sum -r/size 4217/7155 section (from "begin" to "end")
sum -r/size 6650/5171 entire input file
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