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Newsgroups: comp.bbs.waffle,news.answers,comp.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!news.kei.com!eff!cs.umd.edu!ra!fenner
From: fenner@cmf.nrl.navy.mil (Bill Fenner)
Subject: Waffle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Message-ID: <waffle-faq_cP26k1@ra.nrl.navy.mil>
Followup-To: comp.bbs.waffle
Sender: usenet@ra.nrl.navy.mil
Supersedes: <waffle-faq_coaek2@ra.nrl.navy.mil>
Reply-To: fenner@cmf.nrl.navy.mil (Bill Fenner)
Organization: Naval Research Lab, Washington, DC
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 1994 06:12:13 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.edu
Expires: Sun, 29 May 1994 06:12:01 GMT
Lines: 1060
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.bbs.waffle:16719 news.answers:18812 comp.answers:5118
Archive-name: waffle-faq
Original-Author: vds7789@aw2.fsl.ca.boeing.com (Vince Skahan)
Last-modified: $Date: 1993/07/01 12:46:32 $
Waffle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
========================================
INTRODUCTION
The intent of this document is to assemble, in one place, a general list
of Waffle-related Frequently Asked Questions. It is not intended to be
all-inclusive, since no one document can replace the 400KB or so of
documents that come with Waffle.
Rather than repeat material maintained in other newsgroups, other periodic
postings, or the \waffle\docs directory, this document will attempt to
point the reader to the right place for information that is either too
complicated to describe here, or is kept up to date elsewhere.
This document includes information for the current official release of
Waffle (v1.65, released 8/1/92).
In many cases, the answer to a FAQ might be something along the lines of
"you can't at v1.64 or before". Version-specific answers are indicated
whenever possible.
At this time, this document primarily addresses the DOS version of Waffle,
but feel free to submit unix-Waffle FAQs to the address above for inclusion
in the next posting.
Comments, additions, and corrections are welcomed (via e-mail please).
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. What is Waffle ?
Waffle is a USENET-compatible BBS system which supports UUCP
mail, UUCP, and USENET news. In addition, there is a built-in
editor, file upload/download, and the ability to hook in
external programs and gateway to (or from) other packages.
DOS Waffle supports (but does not require) external Fossil
drivers to allow use of high speed modems and allows an MSDOS
PC to be a fully RFC compliant USENET node. It also provides
the UUCP-based transport mechanism that generally comes with
unix systems.
Unix Waffle provides just the BBS functionality and requires the
'traditional' unix communications, mail, and USENET-news software
for those functions.
See \waffle\docs\readme, unix.doc, and dos.doc for more details.
2. What operating systems does it run on ?
IBM-PCs and compatibles running MSDOS (which includes Microsoft
Windows, DR-DOS, and OS/2 if you have enough memory).
Many variants of unix. In particular, configuration options are
already in place for: NeXT, BSD 4.2/4.3, A/UX, SUN, LINUX, IRIS,
Ultrix, XENIX, Interactive 386/ix, HP/UX, Altos 2000. If you
have one of these environments, Waffle should just drop in with
no problems.
LICENSING
1. Is Waffle free ?
In a word, no.
The DOS version is shareware that is made available in
binary form at many locations so you can 'try before you buy'.
The UNIX version is available as source code only, and there
is no provision to 'try before you buy'. However, the look
and feel of the two versions are almost identical, so the DOS
version serves as a 'try' version.
2. OK, so what's it cost ?
For non-commercial sites, DOS Waffle costs $30.00 (US) for
binaries and $120.00 (US) for sources. The unix sources are
$120.00 (US) for non-commercial sites.
Contact the author, Tom Dell <dell@vox.darkside.com> for info
about purchasing Waffle, or see \waffle\docs\register.doc from
the DOS distribution for more details.
3. What if I bought DOS binaries and I now want sources ?
You pay the difference between the binary fee you've paid
already and the cost of the source code.
4. Once I'm registered, can I upgrade to new versions for free ?
Yes, although you might have to download a copy rather than
expecting a floppy to come in the mail.
AVAILABILITY
1. How can I get Waffle by ftp ?
Anonymous ftp:
-------------
Waffle (DOS version) is available via anonymous ftp from
SIMTEL20 and its various mirror sites as follows:
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil 26.2.0.74
pd1:<msdos.waffle>waf165.zip
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4
/pub/mirrors/msdos/waffle/waf165.zip
There are other SIMTEL20 mirror sites. See the periodic postings
in comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d and news.answers for more details.
In addition, halcyon.com has a large waffle-related FTP area:
halcyon.com 192.135.191.2
/pub/waffle/waffle/waf165.zip
2. What if I'm not on the Internet ?
From the author's BBS:
---------------------
The Dark Side of the Moon BBS 1.408.245.SPAM (7726) (Tom Dell)
From SIMTEL20 and mirrors via mail-based-archive-servers:
---------------------------------------------------------
A number of sites run archive-servers to give non-Internet folks
the ability to do the equivalent of ftp-by-mail.
If you do not have FTP access to SIMTEL20, files may be ordered by
mail from:
Internet-style: listserv@vm1.nodak.edu
listserv@vm.ecs.rpi.edu
UUCP-style: uunet!vm1.nodak.edu!listserv
uunet!vm.ecs.rpi.edu!listserv
Send this command to the server to get its help file:
GET PDGET HELP
NOTE: remember that if you request items from an archive-server
via mail, that your traffic goes through every system between the
server and you, and adds such load on each system. Be courteous.
There are a number of periodic postings in news.answers that tell
how to get software via mail in far more detail than what is
provided here.
From other BBS sites:
---------------------
Via mail:
questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Steve Pershing):
mail with text 'help' to username 'MailServer'
Available for downloading:
The Heart of Gold BBS
+1 814 238-9633
300-2400/v.32/v.32bis/ZyXEL 16.8k, free download on first call
look in /file/ibm/bbs/waf*.zip
[The Heart of Gold will be disappearing soon; if it's after
May 1993 don't be surprised if it's gone. Yup, I got a job.]
New Life Forum
+1 503 335-3053
2400/v.32/v.32bis, free download on first call
Wafflemania Unlimited
+1 503 335-9600
2400/v.32/v.32bis/HST 16.8k, free download on first call
SUPPORT MECHANISM
1. How can I get questions answered ?
First, read everything in \waffle\docs.
Then read them about 3 more times.
Then read them again.
Running a USENET site is not difficult, but it's also not
trivial. Running Waffle is not always immediately self-evident
either.
The docs will help... a lot. Yes, there is a lot to read, and
yes, it seems ponderous, but most of your questions are
answered either in the docs or in this FAQ.
Use of a version of 'grep' to scan all the documents for
keywords is highly recommended, or looking in 1.65's new
\waffle\docs\index.
2. Is there a USENET newsgroup for Waffle ?
Yes, comp.bbs.waffle (also known as 'c.b.w.')
Don't be shy, there's a lot of expertise in c.b.w. That's what
it's there for. However, be sure that you have looked through
all the documentation before posting your question; you will
likely get flamed if you ask a question that is clearly
answered in the documentation (or in the FAQ, for that matter.)
3. Can I get in touch with the author of Waffle ?
Yes.
Tom Dell reads comp.bbs.waffle, though he doesn't generally
post too often since he's busy 'doing good' for us all :-)
He's also reachable via e-mail at dell@vox.darkside.com.
Be aware that Tom gets *LOTS* of mail, so replies usually
take a while.
In general, normal questions to comp.bbs.waffle will get quite
a few responses in a very timely manner. There probably aren't
too many questions you can't get answered in c.b.w.
4. How many Waffle sites are there currently?
It's hard to say since there are sites that are unregistered,
not in the UUCP maps, and/or are mail-only and do not exchange
news.
I periodically count how many Waffle sites have posted to USENET
in the past 2 weeks. The last survey was done on Apr 16, 1993,
and the results were:
10/29/92 1/16/93 2/16/93 4/16/93
1.61: 2 1 2 1
1.63: 9 8 9 5
1.64: 81 44 57 46
1.65: 266 266 280 286
--- --- --- ---
358 320 348 339
MAIL
1. How can I route domainized mail for my uucp neighbor directly to them ?
Domain-based mail goes to your smarthost (as defined in static)
unless you override that route with an entry in paths.
If you mail to 'friend@hostname.domain' and you're directly
connected to them via UUCP, you can force a direct delivery
with a /waffle/uucp/paths entry of :
hostname.domain hostname
2. What should I do with my headers?
Nothing unless you know what you're doing.
In general, you want your 'netmail' and 'netnews' parameters in
static to result in valid headers, so that people can reply to you.
If you can do so, get into a domain and domainize all your headers.
It'll make your life easier and will do the same for people who
exchange mail with you.
The important thing to remember is that if you put a domain-style
address out without being domainized, people will probably not be
able to reply to your mail. Just because an address looks good
doesn't make it valid. Most notably, "user@host.host.uucp" is
invalid.
3. I'm not in a domain. What should my headers look like ?
In general, you want to have an address that is a known-good route
from a known site.
Some possibilities are:
All bang-path ===> some_known_host!your_site!you
(i.e. mailfrom: psuvax1!%u!%A
or mailfrom: psuvax1!%n!%A)
mixed format ===> you%your_site.uucp@some_internet_site
(i.e. mailfrom: %A%%%n@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu)
your_site!you@some_internet_site
(i.e. mailfrom: %u!%A@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu
or mailfrom: %n!%A@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu)
(All of the examples above assume something like:
node: hogbbs.UUCP
uucpname: hogbbs
in your static file)
The actual format that works best for you depends on who you're
connected to and what their mailer can handle.
Note that the all bang-path format is not reccomended for news;
sites running B News will mangle your article in such a way that
downstream sites running newer software will drop it on the floor.
4. I'm a single site. Should I register in the UUCP maps?
Yes, or get a domain name.
The bottom line is that if people try to mail to you, you want
your address to be reachable. From Internet, you want to get
domainized and get a MX record if you can.
From UUCP-only sites that don't touch Internet, you need a map
entry (or a header that routes you through somebody with a map
entry you can trust).
5. Can I display something other than the sender when listing mail ?
Yes, as of 1.65 you can specify the header you want to see when
you do a list of messages via the 'listmail' item in static.
Unfortunately, this is not configurable per-user, only per-site.
6. Does Waffle support mail folders ?
Yes, as of 1.65.
If you have no new mail in your mailbox, you can say 'mail *' to
get a list of mailboxes to read.
7. Can I use (my favorite mail program) ?
Some people have had luck with 'readmail' for reading only,
and at 1.65 either mush or pc-elm should work for read/write.
Version 1.65 has MMDF-style mailboxes with messages separated
by four control-A's, so mush and pc-elm should be able to
read/write these messages, though you'll have to reindex your
mailbox with 'makebox' or the like if you write to it.
8. Can I keep a record of all mail that comes into the system ?
Yes, create a file called 'inbox' in \waffle\admin and all
incoming mail will be copied there. You can stash this file
elsewhere via the rr.inbox variable in the static file.
See rmail.doc for more information...
9. Can I get FidoNet Netmail on my Waffle?
See question 12 under NEWS, for information about Erin/Amanda.
FILES SECTION
1. How can I set the prompt in the files section ?
Use the undocumented (before 1.65) 'fileprom' static file
parameter. Try 'fileprom : [$f] :' as an example.
2. I use a Fossil driver and a 16550 UART with FIFOs enabled. After
someone transfers a file, why does it seem as if characters are not
being transmitted?
If you use DSZ, it directly accesses the UART, and uses the
FIFOs. By default, it turns them OFF when it finishes. Since
Waffle doesn't reset the Fossil driver, it tries stuffing
characters into a buffer that's turned off.
The fix is to use the 'F' flag on DSZ's command line in
\waffle\extern\_send and _receive:
Z /command="C:\waffle\bin\dsz F port %d est 0 %b sz -m %i",
or to use the new (as of 1.65) /reset flag on the extern to
make Waffle reset the FOSSIL:
Z /command="C:\waffle\bin\dsz port %d est 0 %b sz -m %i" /reset
This can also affect file transfers using the built-in
editor.
3. People with priv 9 can access the file section fine, but people with
normal access get "Validation is required to use the FILES section."
Check your /waffle/system/dirs file. This error occurs if
the user does not have access to the root file directory
("files:" in the static file). A sample from hogbbs's (working)
configuration:
/waffle/system/static:
files: f:/file
/waffle/system/dirs:
1 /dir="f:/file" /access=1
EXTERNALS
1. How do they all work ?
Simple. There's \waffle\extern\_system for the normal
commands, and you can add any command you want with any access
you want by adding a corresponding file to the \waffle\extern
directory. The file that you create corresponds to the name of
the new command. Be very careful regarding security, though,
as externs can be the least secure part of Waffle.
2. I use 4DOS, yet Waffle shells out to DOS, not 4DOS...
You need to change the command interpreter in \waffle\extern\_system
to use 4DOS rather than command.com
3. If I implement Waffle as a door from another BBS, how can users exit
from Waffle without dropping carrier?
First, disable the 'exit' command in Waffle by adding the
following line to your static file.
disable: exit
Then provide an external implementation of the exit command by
creating extern\exit with the following contents.
/access=0 /logout=exit /log /exit=81
This causes Waffle to exit, without dropping the modem connection,
with errorlevel 81 (or whatever level you want to specify). The
/access=0 ensures that all Waffle users can get back out once they
get in. Then you just trap errorlevel 81 in the batch file that
started Waffle to go back to the other BBS.
EDITORS
1. What editors can I use ?
Locally, any editor your little 'ol heart desires that works
in pure ASCII (ie, you could use WordPerfectOffice, but not
WordPerfect itself since that saves in a non-ASCII format normally).
Remotely, you have to be careful to use an editor that is ANSI
oriented and that doesn't do direct DOS screen I/O. Some editors
that are frequently used (and are available on SIMTEL20 and other
fine archive sites) include:
MEANSI - MicroEmacs compiled to use ANSI mode.
BBStevie - vi clone
FSED - a very configurable editor that can be made to
look like just about any editor you want
WWIVEDIT - the editor for WWIV
Be aware that if you set up external editors for your remote users,
you might have a security risk on your hands. Be sure that you
know whether your editor will let a remote user shell out to the
operating system or not, and that you're giving exactly the
privileges you mean to give out.
BBStevie in particular is designed to be configurable so that you
can prevent folks from getting to the shell (if you want) and you
can use the same binary to ALLOW some other folks shell access if
you want to do that, based on their Waffle access level.
2. How can I use different local and remote editors ?
At 1.65, you can define different local and remote editors from
within Waffle, so it's simple. The STATUS command does not let
you edit your local editor, however; you have to ADMIN T <you>.
Prior to 1.65, you should modify /waffle/extern/_editors to run
a batch file which gets passed the baud rate, and decides based
on that whether to run a local or remote editor.
3. Why does (insert editor here) work locally, but not remotely?
If you try BBStevie locally and it's fine, yet you get a blank
screen when you use it remotely, make sure that you do not have
an ansi driver loaded. Some people have luck using PC Magazine's
ansi.com, which can be loaded and unloaded as part of a batch file
around your 'waffle local username' command, so that there's no
ansi driver loaded by default for remote users.
Version 3.0 of BBStevie can use a FOSSIL driver to do its own
modem i/o, so that you can use a local ANSI driver to handle
local use and remote use will take care of itself.
4. How come STATUS / EDITOR still says there are no editors on the system,
when I just added stuff to /waffle/extern/_edit?
You need to manually edit /waffle/menus/editors to reflect the
editors that are available on your system. Make sure to include
that the user can select "none" to get back to the internal editor.
NEWS
1. Can I keep a copy of all posts ?
Yes, look in static.doc and the USENET file distributed with
Waffle for /spy=monitor.
2. Can I gateway mail to news ?
Absolutely. You need to set up an alias in 'aliases' that
looks something like the following:
newsgroup-name | post newsgroup.name
To go the other way, add
newsgroup.name /mod="submission-address-of-mailing-list".
For example, I have the Pink Floyd mailing list gatewayed on
hogbbs to mail.echoes . I got the list maintainer to send
the mailint list to echoes-list@hogbbs.scol.pa.us, and have
the following entry in 'aliases':
echoes-list | post mail.echoes
My definition for mail.echoes in my USENET file looks like:
mail.echoes /name="The Pink Floyd Mailing List"
/mod=echoes@fawnya.tcs.com
(That should all be on one line; it was split for inclusion
in the FAQ.)
3. Does Waffle provided threaded newsreading ?
Not at this time. See the section on AFTERMARKET ADD-ONS
for info on external newsreaders which do provide threaded
newsreading.
4. Does Waffle support kill files ?
Not at this time. This is planned for v1.66 if Tom responds to
all the pleading. Meanwhile, check the section on AFTERMARKET
ADD-ONS, as above.
5. Why do I see multiple copies of the same article ?
Because Waffle has no 'real-news'-like history mechanism
at this time. Waffle considers an article to be a duplicate
only if the local site is already in the path.
If you get a newsfeed of the same newsgroup from several Waffle
sites into your DOS Waffle, expect to see lots of duplicates :-(
History mechanism is currently planned (rumored) for v1.66
There are several third-party solutions - see the section on
AFTERMARKET ADD-ONS.
6. Why do my local postings not make it to USENET ?
Check your /waffle/system/feeds file. Is there an entry for
your feed there, saying to send all newsgroups there? If you
have a /batch= flag in that feeds entry, did you forget to run
the 'batch' command to take the list of articles to go out,
assemble them, compress them, and queue them up for
transmission.
You should call 'batch' from your poll.bat or from cron via the
schedule file.
7. Can I edit the newsgroups line when making a post ?
Not directly, but you can 'followup groupA groupB' and get
the same functionality. Same goes for mailing a reply to
somebody and also kicking your reply to somebody else.
8. Can I effectively read and followup to saved news messages ?
Not really at this time. If you're at the console, you could use
'readmail' to read them reasonably efficiently, though you
couldn't respond via mail or followup.
There are also a myriad of relatively ugly workarounds available
in 1.65 making creative use of makebox.exe, perl, etc. to make the
saved messages into a mail folder.
Being able to have saved news articles as a mail 'folder' and
use the mail program to read/follow/reply to saved news has
been suggested to Tom for a future release.
9. In 'rn', how can I mail an article to somebody other than the author?
Hit ":m username"
Same idea for saving a message to a specified filename. In that
case you want to hit ":s filename".
Think of it like hitting ':' to get to command mode in vi.
Be careful, though, if you're at a "More" prompt - at the "More"
prompt, a ':' just gets you to the "What next?" prompt, so you
have to hit two colons.
10. I get a message "D:\NEWS/monitor/1 access denied" when posting a
message. [someone wanna give me the exact text of the error?]
You must create the monitor newsgroup manually. monitor and
local newsgroups are the only ones that must be created manually;
rnews will create directories for groups in your FORUMS file
as needed.
11. My users want to use their QWK offline reader to read their netnews.
Does Waffle support this?
There is a .QWK door for Waffle, called WafLineMail, which was
written for 1.64 . It will sort-of work with 1.65 if you use
the 'explode' utility to unpack your 1.65 mailbox; it works OK
with news in 1.65 still. Unfortunately, WafLineMail 1.0 is the
sort of program that works perfectly on some machines and
doesn't work at all on others and nobody can ever figure out
why.
There is a beta of WafLineMail 2.0 floating around, which knows
about 1.65's mailbox format, and may or may not be more reliable.
WafLineMail 1.0r is available as "wafm10.zip", and the beta that
I saw was on halcyon.com:/pub/waffle/wlmb5.zip .
As far as I know, development work on WafLineMail has been dropped.
Rhys Weatherly, author of Helldiver, is working on an offline
reader / Waffle door combo that will allow native handling of
USENET messages (the .QWK handling was always pretty hack-ish).
He will presumably announce to comp.bbs.waffle when it is
available, and this FAQ will be updated when his announcement
occurs.
Jack Kilday <jkilday@nlbbs.com> wrote a system called ZipNews,
which will allow offline reading/replying. In combination with
the ZipNews Reader, the ZipNews door allows true USENET-message
style handling, with none of the yucky kludges necessary for
.QWK . The biggest disadvantage is that to take advantage of
many of the features, the user must run the ZipNews Reader,
which only runs under MS-DOS at the moment.
12. Can I get FidoNet echoes on my Waffle BBS?
There is one package, Amanda, written by David Douthitt
(rat%ruth.uucp@fullfeed.com) to process Fidonet news packets
for MSDOS Waffle v1.65. This package is still in beta testing,
though admittedly WIDE beta testing. Amanda should ONLY be
available through the amanda-l mailing list. To subscribe,
send "subscribe amanda-l" (without quotes) in a message to
list-server%ruth.uucp@fullfeed.com.
There is another package, Erin, written also by David Douthitt,
which will handle Fidonet mail packets for MSDOS Waffle v1.65.
However, this package is not yet released. Information on Erin
will be released through the amanda-l mailing list as it
becomes available, and will be available there first.
Both Amanda and Erin require MSDOS Waffle v1.65 (complete), and
a Fidonet mailer such as FrontDoor or BinkleyTerm.
13. What hosts should I put in my "backbone:" static file entry?
The sites currently maintaining these lists are given in the
following list. Pick the one that is "closest" to your site
and use it in your "backbone" format string:
ames.arc.nasa.gov beaver.cs.washington.edu cis.ohio-state.edu
decuac.dec.com decwrl.dec.com eddie.mit.edu
kddlab.kddlabs.co.jp linus.b.mitre.org math.waterloo.edu
mcnc.org ncar.ucar.edu rutgers.edu
tektronix.tek.com ucbvax.berkeley.edu ucsd.edu
uflorida.cis.ufl.edu uunet.uu.net wrdis01.af.mil
ADMINISTERING A USENET SITE
1. What books should I buy ?
There are several that no USENET admin should be without.
From O-Reilly+Associates:
Administering UUCP and USENET
A Directory of Electronic Mail Addressing and Networks
From 'The Waite Group'
Unix Communications
2. What other stuff should I read ?
Read USENET news, particularly some or all of the following
groups:
comp.bbs.waffle
comp.mail.uucp
news.admin.misc
news.answers
news.newusers.questions
There is a FAQ posted to news.admin.misc,news.announce.newusers
and news.answers called "How to become a USENET site", which
includes lots of useful information about finding your initial
connection.
COMMUNICATIONS
1. What settings do I use for my Telebit modem ?
That's far too complicated a question to answer here.
In general, turn compression off, and turn uucp 'spoofing' on.
This can all be done on the fly by sending register settings as
part of your send-expect sequence when you call out, or you can
do so as part of your modem initialization string in static.
Some Telebit modems don't save the register settings. You might
have to set the registers in both the init string and in the
calling sequence.
Also, grab a FOSSIL driver to control the port if you are
running a 9600 baud modem or above. BNU and X00 seem to be the
most popularly used fossils according to the folks in c.b.w.
Don't forget to set the driver to 'fossil' in the static file.
2. What's the best throughput I can expect ?
Throughput is a function of a variety of things, including
(but not limited to):
- the speed and load of both systems
- the speed of both modems
- line noise on the phone line
- the size of the batches being transferred
- whether or not you are using a FOSSIL driver
With a 2400 baud modem, you should get anywhere between 200 and
220 cps unless you're transferring very small batches.
V.32 (9600 bps) should get anywhere between 700 and 1020 cps.
With a Telebit Trailblazer Plus, you should expect something on
the order of 800 to 1400+ characters/second to a similar modem.
Watch your \waffle\admin\net file for details regarding your
average characters per second. A drop off from what's "normal"
could indicate hardware problems or line problems.
To summarize your DOS net file easily, grab a copy of 'netsum' from
the Waffle directory on one of the archive sites..
It can generate a variety of reports that can answer things like
"based on 11 cents/minute, how much DID I spend to uunet so far ?"
3. What are the special characters recognized by the chat script ?
See \waffle\docs\network.doc or 'Managing UUCP and USENET'
for details.
4. How can I stop my connection from timing out while switching speeds ?
Use uu.delay in static to set a default delay or use the -t
parameter in your uucico command to override the default.
See network.doc for more details.
Also, make sure your modem will wait for a carrier at least as
long as the uu.delay you specify. If your modem uses the AT
command set this is probably the S7 register setting.
Lastly, if you talk to a Telebit modem and you have a
non-Telebit modem (that talks just fine to anything else), you
might want to ask your feed to put PEP tones last. Initial PEP
tones can confuse non-Telebit modems quite a bit.
5. What does this error mean?
See \waffle\docs\network.doc, 'Managing UUCP and USENET', or
Ian Taylor's UUCP Internals FAQ, posted to comp.mail.uucp, for
details.
6. I have a high speed modem. After saying [Connect 14400], Waffle complains
[14400 unsupported]! Why can't Waffle handle high speed connections?
You have locked your FOSSIL, without telling Waffle about it.
This is a no-no. Put "locked: xxxx" in your static file, and
Waffle will shut up about "unsupported". It actually doesn't
matter what speed you use in the locked: parameter, if you have
locked using the FOSSIL.
7. Waffle keeps saying "[ Echo should't be on - waaah! ]" when initializing
the modem.
For Waffle to not complain about this, echo must be in a
consistent state - either always on, or always off. If you
want it to be always off, put E0 in your default profile. If
you want it to be always on, put E1 in your default profile,
and E1 (MUST be uppercase, "e1" won't cut it) in your init:
static file entry.
Note that if you occasionally get the error message, then
you're probably starting up Waffle after having echo on (in
your terminal program, for example), and not resetting your
modem.
Note also that this message is basically harmless and can be
safely ignored.
AFTERMARKET ADD-ONS
1. What add-on products are available for Waffle ?
Lots...and I mean lots.
When in doubt poke around the Waffle directory on SIMTEL20 or a
mirror site for the list of stuff that's purely Waffle related.
Also, keep your eyes open in the Waffle newsgroup for information
related to utilities that might not have been uploaded to Simtel.
halcyon.com (192.135.191.2), on the Internet, has a huge
anonymous ftp section, in /pub/waffle, which is mirrored by
remote.halcyon.com for anonymous UUCP.
Lastly, look in \waffle\docs\third.doc in 1.65
2. I don't like Waffle's user interface. Is there another program that
I can use to access the news?
There are several third-party news readers that can be used
with Waffle:
Package Author
-------------- --------------------------------------
NWREADER sreck@rebox.in-berlin.de (Stefan Reck)
RusNews russell@alpha3.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca
(Russell Schulz)
rnf daniel@blackhl.hacktic.nl
ZipNews Reader jkilday@nlbbs.com (Jack Kilday)
For Windows:
HellDiver rhys@cs.uq.oz.au (Rhys Weatherly)
Any of the MS-DOS readers should be easy to hook into Waffle's
Chrome hook - in RUN.BAT, instead of running CHROME, run the
reader that you like.
I have never used NWREADER, so I know nothing about it, but it
was described by the author in his original posting of the
program as an "offline full screen mail and newsreader". Look
for nnXXX.zoo or nn386XXX.zoo to run on 386 machines. A
companion mailer, RWMAIL, is available as rwmXXX.zoo. They
should be available from ftp.FU-Berlin.DE in /pub/pc/uucp .
RusNews is written in pascal, and offers an "nn-like"
interface, where you select which articles or threads to read
in one screen and then go read all that you selected. RusNews
has a limited kill file facility. RusNews also works online,
if you want to offer it for your users as well. Look for
rusn-*.zip .
I have never used rnf, and have heard nothing about it.
The ZipNews Reader is pretty speedy once it creates its indexes
(which can sometimes take a while if you have large newsgroups).
It can "accumulate" its indexes, if you can spare the disk space,
for more complete threading.
I have never used HellDiver, but from what I have seen about it
on comp.bbs.waffle, if you're using Windows anyway, you
definitely want to give it a try. Look for helld*.zip .
3. Duplicate message killers
checkdup - by russell@alpha3.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Russell Schulz)
Must be run in each newsgroup directory seperately -- good if
you're only getting a few groups duplicated.
nscu11 - by chorn@eastwind.mcds.com (Christopher Horn)
Runs through whole directory tree, good if you get lots of
dupes. Also resequences articles, so that your users don't get
to see weird article number jumps. NSCU compares CRC's and not
full Message-ID's, so should be faster than the others.
dupweed - by kjhoule@iowegia.uucp (Kevin Houle)
Provides approximately the same functionality as nscu, but
compares full Message-ID strings. Limited to 750 articles per
newsgroup, and 40 subdirectories per directory.
history - by dawson@(?) (Willard Dawson)
(?)
MISCELLANEOUS
1. How can I set my mail and news signatures to be different ?
It's built-in already.
The mailsig file is for mail, the sig file is for news.
The \waffle\system\sig file gets inserted if it's there and you
don't have a personal sig or mailsig file.
If you want to be able to pick which sig goes on which message,
try Roy Silvernail's APPSIG.ZIP .
2. Why doesn't /waffle/system/mailsig work?
The different names are only for the user's personal signature.
If you have a system default signature, /waffle/system/sig, it
is applied to *all* messages.
3. Can I use 16-bit compression ?
Sure, if you have enough memory and can find a 16-bit compression
program.
One is provided with 1.65 and there are a variety of add-in
16-bit compress programs for 1.64 and earlier available on SIMTEL.
If you use 16-bit compress, be sure you have the 'compress' flag
in the static file set correctly for the compress you're using.
See \waffle\docs\comp16.doc .
4. What are all those files in \waffle\* anyway ?
See \waffle\docs\roadmap.doc for descriptions of almost every
file that comes with the software.
5. What document in \waffle\docs contains what ?
\waffle\docs\index.doc has the table of contents of each of
the other documents. Use a text editor or something similar
to look for keywords in index.doc, then it will point you to
which file to look in.
If you have a version of the UNIX utility "grep", it's best
to do something like "grep keyword \waffle\docs\*", to find
even obscure references to things.
You'll find a lot of neat but obscure references in HISTORY.DOC.
6. Can I alter my headers after composing a message ?
Some of them are editable in 1.65 via the 'alter' static parameter.
Don't put "To:", "CC:" or "Newsgroups:" in 'alter'; it won't work.
7. Does DOS Waffle support control messages ?
Other than cancelling a message you posted that hasn't been
batched up yet, no. You might want to look at the contents of
the control newsgroup once in a while to see what control
messages you received that Waffle didn't process.
There's a program called procc, "PROCess Control" which will
handle control messages for you. Look for procc-NN.zip where
NN is the version number.
8. What does this 'Splash file before login' flag do? I can't find it in
the docs.
If a user logs in with the 'Splash file before login' flag, and
a file exists in /waffle/text named after that user, it will be
displayed ("splashed") immediately after the user enters their
password correctly. Example: user falken has 'Splash file ...'
set in his profile:
hogbbs!login: falken
Password:
[this is /waffle/text/falken]
(>
Greetings, Professor Falken. Would you like to play a game?
[this is /waffle/text/welcome, which everyone sees]
Welcome to the Heart of Gold
...
WAFFLE BUGS
As with any large system, Waffle has bugs. Since the source is available,
some users have fixed some of the bugs that have cropped up. In this
section, the notation "Patch: <user>" means that the mentioned user has
a patch to the source code available that will fix the problem. You need
to already have the source code for this to be useful to you. "BPatch: <user>"
means that the mentioned user has a binary patch available, which anyone
should be able to use. "Fixed: 1.xx" means that the bug is fixed as of
the mentioned version. "Workaround:" means that there is a way to avoid
the bug in normal operation.
1. When I mail to a | post alias from within Waffle, it only posts the headers.
This is a bug having to do with external editors.
Workaround: use the internal editor when mailing to such an alias.
Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu
Fixed: 1.66
2. When I mail to a | post alias from within Waffle, it only works the first
time, the second time it doesn't do *anything*.
Workaround: none known.
Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu
Fixed: 1.66
3. I configured my modem to work with FAX, but Waffle keeps saying
[Hayes code -2] and hangs up.
This occurs if you have Auto-ATA: in your static file.
Workaround: make your modem answer the phone (no Auto-ATA: in the
static file and ATS0=1 in the initialize string).
Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu
Fixed: 1.66
4. I have personal aliases for "mom" and "dad", and when I type "mail mom dad"
Waffle complains "No such user", even though I can type "mail mom" or
"mail dad" and it works fine.
Waffle's implementation of personal aliases isn't complete.
Workaround: put the aliases in /waffle/system/aliases
WARNING: This makes your aliases available to all users, so
*be* *careful* with what you put there.
5. I have "finger_ok: 3" in my static file but anyone can use the FINGER
command.
Apparently, this check got lost somewhere; Waffle completely
ignores the finger_ok: static variable.
Workaround: None, save writing an extern to duplicate the
functionality that you want, and controlling access to
that via the extern files.
TRANSITION TO 1.65
1. I updated my config files, but they didn't work.
Some of the config files, notably 'paths', moved in 1.65 to the
new \waffle\uucp directory. Make sure you aren't editing the file
in the old 1.64 location.
2. I'm going to run makebox. Anything I should know ?
Yes. Makebox deletes the old mail files after it assembles the
new mailbox. If you're paranoid, you might want to zip up your
1.64 mail messages before running makebox if you're not sure you'll
stay at 1.65.
If you screw up, try to find a copy of "explode.zip" (it's on
halcyon.com in /pub/waffle/mail); it will take a 1.65 mailbox
back to 1.64 format.
3. 1.65 sure seems scary, why should I bother?
Lots of reasons. See history.doc and release.165 for details.
Of course, if you're happy with the version you run, there's
not a lot of rush to get updated, though most of the c.b.w.
readers keep at the current version and you'll get better help
from c.b.w. by staying current. In addition, there are
increasingly many utilities that will only work with version
1.65 . However, there are still some Waffle sites at v1.61,
so obviously old versions still work =)
--
Bill Fenner fenner@cmf.nrl.navy.mil