146 lines
4.6 KiB
Plaintext
146 lines
4.6 KiB
Plaintext
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There is a "BID" (Bulletin IDentifier) associated with each bulletin
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type message and with any message which has a distribution list.
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If a BID is not given explicitly with the "Send" command, one is
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created automatically from the message number and callsign of the MailBox
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into which the message was initially entered. It has the form nnn_call.
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There are 3 types of messages:
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1) Personal. If sent with SP, or with S and to a callsign.
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2) NTS traffic. If sent with ST.
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3) Bulletins. If sent with SB, or with S and NOT to a callsign.
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For Bulletins, a BID is ALWAYS associated with the message, and is sent when
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forwarding to systems that indicate in their SID that they accept BIDs.
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For Personal, the message can only be read by the sender, addressee, and sysop.
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There are several "flags" associated with each message. These are shown in
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the "message status" position in the "list message" display. Note that each
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flag has an associated "L" command, and some have associated "K" commands.
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F - The "Forwarded" flag:
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This indicates the message has been forwarded to all
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its destinations, but has not yet been killed.
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H - The "Hold" flag:
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This indicates the message is held.
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It will not forward, and can only be seen by the sysop.
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I - The "In process" flag:
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This indicates the message is in the process of being forwarded.
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K - The "Killed" flag:
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This indicates the message is killed, but has not yet been purged
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from the system. Killed messages are purged with the GM command.
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O - The "Old" flag:
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This indicates the message has been hanging around
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un-forwarded and un-read for too long.
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Y - The "Read" flag:
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This indicates the message has been read by its addressee,
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but has not yet been killed.
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How do BID's work?
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The various commands (S, M, CM) work in exactly the same way.
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The basic command is S[type] TO [@ AT[.LOC]] [< FROM] [$[BID]]
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Data inside [] may be omitted.
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Messages differ in the following ways:
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TO gets translated.
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TO is a callsign.
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TO is an interest group.
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AT gets translated.
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AT is a callsign.
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AT is a distribution list.
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$ field is present.
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$ field is present, with BID.
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Type is B
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Type is P
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Type is T
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Type was not specified.
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Message is held.
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A type B or P message gets a BID if the command that creates the message
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has the "$" field. A message of type B or P gets a default BID if none was
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specified and it has a distribution list. A message of type T never gets a BID.
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In the discussion below, the same rules apply whether the message was created
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using the S, M, or CM commands.
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Here is how the system behaves:
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1) If the user sends the message with "$ID" given in the command,
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the message is assigned identifier "ID". If this identifier
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has been seen before, the message is rejected and the text
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"NO - Already have it." is displayed.
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2) If the user sends the message with "$" given in the command,
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the message is assigned a unique MailBox generated BID. This BID
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is generated from the message number and callsign of the MailBox.
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The message is accepted, since this BID cannot have been seen before.
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3) If there is a distribution list, and a BID is not given with the command,
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a unique MailBox generated BID is assigned. This BID is generated from the
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message number and callsign of the MailBox OF ORIGIN. If this BID has been
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seen before, the message is put on hold.
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5) If the user (sysop) attempts to change the BID of a message,
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and the new BID is one that has been seen before, the change is
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rejected, the text "NO - Have it already" is displayed,
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and the message retains its current BID.
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6) If a message is received from another MailBox, and has a BID
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sent along with it, and has a distribution list that includes
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the MailBox from which the message was received, the message is
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marked as already forwarded to that MailBox.
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Some results of applying these rules:
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1) A message entered into the system without using "$" in the command
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and without a distribution list may loop within the system.
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These messages are held after they have passed through the system
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a small number of times, normally two.
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2) A message which was entered with a "$" given in the command
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will be rejected when it is forwarded back to any system it
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previously passed through.
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3) Messages of type B or P may have a distribution list,
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messages of type T may not.
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4) There will be no attempt to pass a message which has a BID
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back to the station that sent it to you.
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