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Ý° Þ° Ý° Þ° Ý° Þ° Þ°
The Journal of IceNET July 1994
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Editor's Desk ³
³ The Upper Registers Deacon Blues (2@7653) ³
³ Managing Editor's Notes Will (1@6754) ³
³ Letters To The Editors Louie (6@1) ³
³ IceNEWS Op-Ed Forum Louie (6@1) ³
³ ³
³ Feature Stories ³
³ WWIVcon 1994 or My 'Holiday Roads' trip Jim Nunn (1@1) ³
³ Why WWIV? Papa Bear (1@5079) ³
³ The Man Who Had IceNET Named After Him IceFreezr (3@1) ³
³ The Great .QWK Debate - ³
³ Survey Results and More Papa Bear (1@5079) ³
³ WWIV And The GEnie Online Service Morgul (1@8315) ³
³ ³
³ WWIV-Specific ³
³ How I Write A Modification For WWIV Papa Bear (1@5079) ³
³ WWIV Dreams: The Future and Beyond NightSpeed (1@5051) ³
³ The Asylum Group: This Is Who We Are ³
³ and Here Is What We Do Zu Digital (1@7321), Sam (1@2077) ³
³ WWIV and OS/2 Will (1@6754) ³
³ ³
³ Software/Programming ³
³ BBSing Enters A New Dimension: ³
³ The RIPscrip Graphics Protocol Zack Ives (WWIVnet 3@7729) ³
³ Learning C - Part Six Daarkhan (1@7676) ³
³ The Making of a Mod Spotnik (WWIVnet 1@5497) ³
³ ³
³ Lite Bytes ³
³ Silly Strings Ima Moron (1@9661) ³
³ The Hows and Whys of Handles Louie (6@1) ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ IceNEWS Staff For July 1994 ³
³ ³
³ "...Winners of the 1994 WWIVcon Award for Electronic News" ³
³ ³
³ IceNEWS Publisher - Jim 1@1 ³
³ IceNEWS Editor-In-Chief - Deacon Blues 2@7653 ³
³ IceNEWS Managing Editor - Will (1@6754) ³
³ ³
³ IceNEWS Contributing Editors ³
³ Hardware - Will 1@6754 Software/Programming - Daarkhan 1@7676 ³
³ WWIV-Specific - Papa Bear 1@5079 Lite Bytes - Ima Moron 1@9661 ³
³ ³
³ Editors-At-Large - Louie 6@1, Chris #1@7658 ³
³ IceNEWS Production - Spelunker 1@7653 ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ IceNEWS is always seeking submissions from those who have ³
³ ideas for stories. If you have any ideas that you might ³
³ like to see published, contact any IceNEWS editor or ³
³ subscribe to IceNEWS Beat, subtype IceNEWS, host @1. ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ E D I T O R ' S D E S K ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Upper Registers ³ Deacon Blues (2@7653)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
As I was sitting at my desk in the IceNEWS offices here on the 13th floor
of the Nunn Building - IceNET's corporate headquarters - the following
thoughts occurred to me.
There was a wire story from The Boston Globe that appeared in the June 1,
1994, Lifestyles section of The Buffalo News that rankled my feathers and
offended my sensibilities. The story was about the growing number of senior
citizens who, due to the amount of excess time that they have on their hands,
are starting to become involved in BBSing.
What I found upsetting about the article was the way that the author
referred to BBSers. The writer used the term "hacker" as an umbrella to
describe those who use modems and call BBSes. Really, now? If this author was
not versed enough in the terms used when BBSing and had not researched the
topic enough to be able to make the distinction between a "user" and a
"hacker," then she should not have written the story. At the very least, the
editors at the Globe should have caught this error and either killed the story
or made the correction before offering it to other papers.
It is this type of bone-headed mistake that can make someone who has more
smarts about computer terms than the author of the story (but doesn't modem
themselves) think that anyone who uses a BBS is automatically out to trash
peoples' accounts, steal information, upload viruses, and throw a proverbial
handful of nails across the lanes of the Information Superhighway.
To the author of the story, the editors at The Globe, and the editors of
The Buffalo News (for not catching the error either), I give the following
advice: let those who know about BBSing write stories about BBSing and keep
the literary "hackers" out of print.
Speaking of the Information Superhighway, I see that it now has been
given a new name. Inside Washington D.C., which is where the idea of the
Infobahn sprung up in the first place, the Information Superhighway is now
being referred to as the "National Information Infrastructure."
My natural question is "why?" Wasn't the old name politically correct
enough? Why don't they just call a spade a spade and name it "tomorrow" since
it's never going to come anyway? I get the feeling that by the time the
politicians are done wrangling with it the Pentium chip will be sitting in a
museum along side of an 8088 processor before the Information Infrastructure
goes into service.
It's just like those AT&T commercials that keep claiming that all of this
wonderful new technology is "coming." It's coming alright. So is another ice
age, eventually...
Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is for sale. Among the magazine titles that
Ziff-Davis publishes are "PC Magazine," "PC Week," and "Computer Shopper." The
reputed selling price is $4 billion. A mere bagatelles. I'm going to talk to
Jim to see if he'll float me a loan.
When we began work on this July issue, I posted on the IceNEWS Beat sub
(the sub for our readers to speak with the IceNEWS editors, subtype IceNEWS,
host @1) asking readers' thoughts on Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). The use of
PGP, a program that can encrypt posts and e-mail, making it readable only to
those who possess the proper decryption key, has been the center of discussion
on several WWIV-based networks. Discussion about whether or not users should
be allowed to use PGP (or other forms of encryption) has, in some cases,
become what can best be described as "heated." The pro-PGP contingent argued
that users should be allowed to have privacy if they wished it, while those
opposed to the idea claimed that PGP could and would be used for unscrupulous
means. After I asked what everyone thought about this issue, I was expecting a
good number of widely varied responses about the subject.
The real surprise was that I failed to receive even a single response
about the matter. Could it be that these other networks are making a
proverbial mountain out of a mole hill? If one can use the utter lack of
response to the subject in IceNET as a gauge, I think it would be safe to
assume that the issue of PGP is in really a non-issue.
Well, I think that's enough of me for another month. As usual, my thanks
go out to Will and the rest of the IceNEWS staff and contributing writers for
their usual bang-up job of putting together yet another great issue and making
all of this look easy. Also, my thanks go out to all of our readers for taking
the time to check out IceNEWS and for their continued support in making the
Journal the best network news publication that it can be.
And now, your July 1994 issue of the IceNEWS Journal.
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Managing Editor's Notes ³ Will (1@6754)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Welcome to the July issue of IceNEWS! Among other things, this issue has
the [dubious] distinction of being the first one we've ever intentionally held
back past the first of the month. However, in doing this, we're able to bring
you Jim's (1@1) report on his trip to the first WWIV Convention in New
Orleans. Look for it in the features section.
Also in this issue, we have a special collection of articles on writing
mods for WWIV by three of the most prolific modification writers around, Papa
Bear (IceNEWS's own WWIV Specific editor and the person behind the series),
Spotnick (author of one of the most widely used WFC modifications around, as
well as many others), and the Asylum Group (who have recently released a
freeware QWK packet generator as well as their earlier ListPlus file tagging
system).
Also in this issue, we have WWIV Under OS/2, a special article on
RIPscrip graphics by Zack Ives (author of the RIPspeed modification for WWIV
4.23), the results of our survey on the current incarnation of the Great QWK
Debate, Louie's discourse on the How's and Why's of Handles, me going on and
on about the computer industry, and more.
On another note, while we were wrapping up this issue I had the
opportunity to attend the Database/Client Server World convention in Boston.
While not WWIVcon, I did have the chance to see a lot of new products in the
DB/CS arena. While it was somewhat low-key, the obvious star of the show was
Borland International's dBase 5.0 for Windows. At a very well hidden product
demo/luncheon that I stumbled onto, I had the opportunity to see a demo of the
new version, given by none other than Borland President Philipp‚ Kahn. The
product helps form the cornerstone of Borland's new direction as a company, in
which it aims for domination of the database and language arena. According to
Kahn's presentation, Borland already controls 75 percent of the world database
market through dBase III/IV for DOS (54%) and the Paradox products for DOS and
Windows (21%). Kahn also stated that after divesting its spreadsheet business
to Novell in exchange for a much needed cash infusion, Borland now has $140
million in ready cash after having paid back all its debts, placing it in an
excellent position to make good on it's goals.
The actual product, dBase 5 for Windows, looks like it will shape up to
be just about anything anyone could want. Kahn made a big point about it being
"for" Windows instead of "in" Windows (his example of an "in" Windows product
was competitor Microsoft's FoxPro 2.6 product). One major innovation in the
new product is known as "Two Way Tools". While dBase has historically been a
character-based programmed language like C or Pascal (as opposed to a visually
programmed language like Paradox's ObjectPal or Microsoft's Visual Basic),
"Two Way Tools" is both. The basic dB/Win development environment consists of
three windows, one for text commands, one for text output, and one for the
application under development. You can use visual tools (like those in
Paradox) to design application forms. A "Form Expert" analogous to the
"Wizards" in Microsoft applications, the only Expert currently in the program,
or external components (including Visual Basic VBX extensions) to improve
functionality. With Two Way Tools you can also edit the entire program in text
mode, or make on the fly changes in the text command window that are reflected
in the application.
Borland expects the application to ship in the next six weeks, although
no one wanted to give an exact figure. Borland has done extensive testing with
dBase/DOS programs, and according to Kahn, 99.9% of them will run unmodified.
The 5.0 version of Paradox, Borland's other database product, is expected to
ship this summer, as well.
Finally, back on the WWIV tack, I'm planning on attempting to revive the
short-lived WWIV Chat Session on the Internet Relay Chat. The current goal is
a set one-hour time slot one day a week or month. The exact time slot and day
haven't been decided yet, so if you'd be interested in participating send me
an email over IceNET or to my Internet account at wcrawfor@world.std.com.
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Letters To The Editors ³ Compiled By: Louie (6@1)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
The IceNEWS "Letters To The Editors" column is a forum for the readers to
express their feelings, thoughts, or opinions regarding IceNEWS. Please take
the time to write us regarding your feelings on IceNEWS and its contents, good
or bad. We want to hear what you have to say. Remember, IceNEWS is meant for
EVERYONE in IceNET and we need YOUR input in order to maintain a successful
and respected publication.
Please address any remarks or questions to:
IceNEWS Letters To The Editors
c/o Louie, #6 @1
IceNEWS Editor-At-Large
Starfighter, 1@3113, writes regarding a comment made by Deacon Blues, 1@7653,
in the June, 1994, edition of IceNEWS ("The Upper Registers"):
Hello. I just briefly read your note in IceNEWS about the woman-bashing
and pirate activities. I would just like to say that neither are welcome on my
system. I would also like to add a word about that user that sent hate-mail
through the net and the other sysop's reaction to that. I myself am an Area
Coordinator for IceNET and speak the same for "not being able to watch the
board 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." However, since you did not say who was
involved, I would just like to say that I, too, have the same reaction and
would like to see that type of behavior [tolerance] continue.
Deacon Blues replies:
I'm glad to see that you shared my opinions on the subjects of user
discrimination, piracy, and the need for people to be tolerant of the mistakes
of others. Networks need users in order to be successful, and the
discrimination against and/or harassment of new users (female or otherwise) by
others on the networks should not be tolerated. Nor should piracy.
As for the tolerance issue, I decided not to name names (as the issue was
considered closed) and to protect the sysop from whose system the mail
originated from any further embarrassment or humiliation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strider, 1@6555, writes to Louie, 6@1, Managing Editor for the June 1994
edition of IceNEWS, with his opinions on IceNEWS:
Hello,
I am a recent addition to IceNET. I noticed that i got the WWIVNEWS.NET
in a net connection, so I checked it out. Now I would like to thank everyone
that is taking part in IceNEWS. As of now I have only read up to the Learning
C section. I have learned a lot reading the security part of the journal. From
just what little I can do until I register the BBS, I found some really cool
ways to protect the BBS from attempted hacks, one of which is the format
command. It never occurred to me to simply rename the file. And again I say
keep up the good work. Back to why I decided to e-mail you.
I am not sure if you all already have this in the journal, but I would
like to see a little section about on-line game reviews. The games I have
running currently are Legend Of the Red Dragon, Usurper, Barren Realms Elite,
and Solar Realms Elite. I have been looking for games similar to these and I
have tried about 40-60 games with no luck.
Maybe a brief description of the game type/play, a BBS that we can find
the game on. I would be more than open to try the games for review and help
out in anyway possible. It is a frustrating quest to find on-line games you
really want to try and/or want to put on-line. I mean around here just about
every BBS has the same games (except for Usurper, only 3 WWIV BBS have that
game. We are keeping it to our selves). Most games I have tried are either too
big with to many options that no one will take the time to play or are just
plain stupid.
Well that is all for now. Look for more in the future and keep up the
good work! Glad to be part of IceNET!
Louie Replies:
Hello there. Welcome to IceNET and thank you for your interest in
IceNEWS. We always like to get letters from our readers.
We have run some article about games in the past. Zeus, 1@7671, wrote a
piece about the new Tradewars 2.0 beta release a few months back. Admittedly,
though, we have not covered games and other on-line programs as much as we
should.
The main reason why we haven't run many articles about games and on-line
programs is that we have not gotten them submitted to us much. But then, that
is just an excuse. We haven't been beating the bushes for articles like that
either. Probably because not many of we editors are game players.
In the past I used to play games but I moved beyond that about two years
ago. I don't know enough to write an article about the games that are out
there now. The only games I still know anything about are Tradewars, Space
Dynasty, Global Wars, and Operation Overkill. And even then my knowledge isn't
extensive anymore.
IceNEWS would be more than willing to publish some good articles about
games for WWIV BBSes. So, if any of our kind readers knows a lot about games
and would like to write an article about them, please contact one of the
IceNEWS Editors.
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The IceNEWS Op-Ed Forum ³ Louie (6@1)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
The WWIV Mac Experience Buzz Burbank 662 @1
As BBSing has taken on new variations and has had its ups and downs. So
have schools. Around January of this year, I had said, "Hey, we are trying all
new ideas for the Buffalo public school system. I am a former WWIV Sysop have
much knowledge of WWIV and the way it thinks and works. Why not run a WWIV BBS
similar to The Pinnacle, which is run by Chris, 1@7668. Make a BBS that would
be beneficial for both the school, students, staff and parents at as a whole."
ÿ ÿ The idea was to simply run a WWIV BBS at Bennett High School in the MAC
computer lab. Well, I had the idea for a BBS since i was attending North Park
Academy (now North Park Middle Academy) when I was in 7th grade but didn't
have the WWIV knowledge to do so. So I waited until this year when I finally
started work on BHS BBS, Bennett High School Bulletin Board System.ÿ It was a
hopeful pilot program for a three month period to see how the BBS was taken by
staff and students. Unfortunately, I could not get this off the ground because
it was impossible to run WWIV on the MacIntosh Computers. The school gets Mac
Computers for a bigger discount than the IBM computers, so 99% of the IBM
computers at the school are obsolete.
I asked myself, "Why hasn't Wayne Bell created a WWIV for the MacIntosh
Computers?" So this is an open letter/request to Wayne Bell. As It is today,
the only thing available for the Mac is a WWIV "clone" called Hermes. Hermes
is a lovely WWIV-like clone, but it lacks a lot of WWIV's friendliness, had
many flaws and problems, and it is simply not WWIV.
Think about the possibilities of a Macintosh WWIV:
- GUI Graphical User interface / Icons for E-Mail , etc., possibleÿ ÿ
- Multitasking to a point where many users could be online at once
via a local Apple Talk Network Server ÿ
- And many more GUI Type additions
The MacIntosh computers are becoming more and more popular as they are,
in fact, easy to use. Being an "IBM Man," I can even see that for young people
these days the MacIntosh computers are easy to use and easy to learn to use. A
BBS software that is easy to learn and master would be a great addition to any
school anywhere. As the June, 1994 IceNEWS Journal article "WWIV Goes To
School" by Chris, 1@7668, has pointed out, WWIV has been an great advancement
to the school as a whole.
The current situation in public high and junior high schools as far as
there being any "Information Superhighway" is that there is a very small
amount of information trickling in from an eyedropper. The current output in
schools is that of students knowing little about computers and having a hard
time attempting to get a job in one of the largest growing fields, that of
computers. It has become a current problem where adults are not knowing as
much as necessary by his/her employers to keep his/her jobs or advance forward
in their current field. A BBS linked to networks and information networks
would be a stepping stone for students as far as it comes to computer
literacy. A BBS ruining at a school is a good stepping stone on a road of fun
and knowledge.
If you are a teacher and are interested in what schools have been doing
via BBSes, just call The Pinnacle at (716) 649-3530 and talk to Chris, or mail
him via IceNET at 1@7668. He will be more than happy to tell you a bit more of
what has occurred at Hamburg Central School District.
A special note to anyone associated with WWIV or Mr. Wayne Bell: There is
at least 1 person out here who would like a Macintosh-based version of WWIV.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Crawford On: You Just Can't Spend Money Any More Will 1@6754
Anyone who's had to buy PC equipment in the last year or so has probably
come up against the price/performance wall. While computer technology has
always been expanding much more quickly than virtually any other industry (to
match the amount of exponential improvement that microprocessors have enjoyed
over the last 15 years, the auto industry would be making cars getting
hundreds of miles per gallon), this has snowballed over the past year. In
short - you just can't spend money any more. It's obsolete before it's out of
the box, or, more usually, before it's even out of the showroom. Or into the
showroom.
My father bought a laptop recently. Just for word process- ing, and to
use a parallel port scanner. This is a 486sx/33 with a passive matrix color
screen. I went with him to help him buy it. When he got it home, he began to
gush about how amazing it was. Bill bought one of the original IBM PC's back
in the early 1980s. He can't get over the fact that, 13 years later, he was
able to purchase this tiny, color, machine that is a few dozen times as
powerful, weighs in at 6.2 pounds, and cost less than half as much. What
surprised me was that the same configuration, as a desktop, had cost $4000 a
year ago. The price had dropped by $2000 in just one year.
It's showing up on my system too, of course. My primary machine, which I
run the BBS on, is quite a mishmash of peripheral equipment dating from
several machines over the past 7 years. While there's nothing that was used in
my first machine (an 8088 clone) still operating, I have a chain of
progression going back to the mid 1980's. The central processing unit, a
486dx2-66 tower, was the most powerful thing I could buy just last August.
With the exponential performance curve, for a few hundred dollars more than I
paid then (for a maxed out system, about 2500 without my hard disk and
monitor, which I recycled from my older 386), I could buy a Pentium 90 with
three times the processing power, a hard disk and monitor, and eight to
sixteen megabytes of RAM. My power system has become entry level in less than
a year. Even though I still can't run Windows NT, I'm not happy that this
keeps happening to me.
With all the latest advances by Intel and the rest of the chip making
crowd (such as IBM and Apple with the PowerPC - see last issue's column), this
is not going to get any better anytime soon. Apple is gearing up to release
the next generation of PowerMacs, and the three-company consortium is about to
release a new version of the PowerPC chip, that's both cheaper and faster.
People who have bought PowerPC systems now will be sunk. Intel is ramping up
the Pentium production, so we can expect even clock tripled 486's to begin to
fade from the scene over the next six months to a year. The 386 has been dead
since mid-1993, and the 486 will follow shortly. While Intel is still selling
millions of the things, and they're still being used in most new computers,
the days of the 486 are certainly numbered.
Where's it going to end? And when? Certainly not for a while. Chip
performances will always be increasing, and with the present competitive
environment, all the companies that make these things will be attempting to
top each other. The PC of choice is down to about $3000, down from the $5000
mark a few years ago. And this spiral of leaving people behind will continue.
Buyers will just have to decide when the current level of performance is
enough, and make the purchase then, regardless of the consequences.
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ F E A T U R E S T O R I E S ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³WWIVcon '94³ "Holiday Roads" Jim 1@1
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
I could not have asked for more out of WWIVcon. Meeting the faces behind
the handles of folks I'd known across the modem for such a long time was
indeed a rewarding experience, and one that I highly recommend you plan on
having for yourself next year...so start saving up now, and have no excuses!
Friday morning on July 1st, Special Agent and I began driving from
Buffalo to New Orleans, a planned 24 hour drive which we made in 21 due to the
HIGH speed traffic on all roads outside New York. Arriving at the Comfort Inn
at 6am, I was almost certain we would be the first to get to WWIVcon, and
would probably have to wait til 3pm or so to check in. Pleasantly surprised by
the cordiality of the Hotel conceierge, both Frank and I were given our room
keys and we proceeded to rest up and watch O.J.'s preliminary hearing in the
room til about 5pm.
The lobby was the main gathering place for attendees, and Linwood Davis
had laid out our nametags, so we all had a way to tell who we were. It was
somewhat amazing how fast we did get to know each other. Within 20 seconds,
conversation immediately felt like talking to an old friend, which it was!
None of those normal first meeting jitters, but just falling right in tune
with everyone.
Friday night came and went quickly for me, and I was able to borrow a
laptop from Linwood to check up on Louie back on my boards who was
house-sitting for me in my absence. My room soon filled up with some other
attendees...Special Agent, Jafo, Benny Hill, Morgul, Dr. Diversity, myself,
and my room phone bill was run up a bit, but we had some good talks, and
suddenly it was 2:30 am so all were kicked out and I retired to my sleeping
chambers.
Saturday again was a whirl of activity, all carefully planned out by
Filo, who had distributed the agenda the night before. In the morning, a
session on NETWORKING, with Linwood, myself, and Wayne was conducted. Before
the session, the three of us huddled to decide who would go first, and what we
would say. Wayne suggested we wing it, Linwood volunteered to go first, so
with this plan in place, we were announced by Filo and the NETWORKING session
began. Linwood spoke, gave out door prizes, I spoke on IceNET history I think,
and Wayne answered questions. With Linwood on the dias both Wayne and I looked
great up there. Wayne more so than me, but both our red hair and red trimmed
beards matched. I later found out that Graham Mainwaring was a real Wayne Bell
look-a-like. Nobody looked like Linwood, and Filo resembled a cross between
Gabby Hayes and an Oak Ridge Boy.
We broke for lunch, and then back to the meeting hall for a session with
a Lantastic expert, and between he and I we had a pretty good discussion of
local area networks and their application to WWIV and multi-instance
installations. Though I can't remember who, one of the attendees won a free
shrink-wrapped copy of Lantastic Z, the two node version of Lantastic that
does not require adapter cards. Better than a coffee cup, which BTW I didn't
even win. I did win some very nice awards later at the awards banquet, which I
missed as by 8pm Saturday I was totally exhausted, and conked out in my room
watching reruns of O.J.'s first day in court.
Nevertheless, getting the awards the next morning at breakfast was a
pleasure. One was particularly well deserved, something about being an 'early
bird' which I'm sure I clinched by not making the awards banquet the night
before. The one that really meant the most was for IceNEWS, signed by Filo and
Wayne, and well deserved by the IceNEWS writers, staff, and management. I was
really pleased that this was recognized.
Two other sessions were held, one with the group of Beta Testers who
attended, including myself, Sandman, Wayne, Sam, Benny Hill, H2ODoc, Filo, and
a session with Wayne as the only Speaker. Wayne answered questions again,
discussed the features of 4.24, and generally delighted the entire audience
with his expertise, wit, charm, and all-around good nature in answering
questions, and also dodging a few. Amazing what some people will ask a fellow
:)
Special Agent and I began our return drive about 3pm Sunday, and blew
into Buffalo about 21 hours later. And we're still friends. :)
Most of all, thanks to Filo for leading the way to make it all happen, and to
all the sysops who came. I wish I was still there with all of you.
Remember, WWIVcon 1995 is just around the corner. Be there!
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³ Why WWIV? ³ Papa Bear (1@5079)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
I've been either a user of BBSes or a Sysop of BBSes since 1981. During
the majority of the 80's, I ran BBSes on Commodore 64's and 128's. When I
called other BBSes, they ran a wide variety of software on quite a number of
differing platforms.
When I was starting calling IBM-type BBSes on a regular basis, I was
exposed to not only WWIV, but to Searchlight, TAG, WildCat, PCBoard, Vision/X,
etc., ad nauseum, as well.
On October 1, 1991, I started this particular BBS on my first IBM machine
under the tutelage of one of the all-time great WWIV SysOps - Frank Reid - in
the little town of Adak, Alaska. For the past two years, I've been running the
same BBS, albeit upgraded a few times, here in Alameda CA. During the past few
years, I've been responsible to quite a number of other people starting WWIV
BBS's. Many of them are still online today. Those SysOps, like myself, get a
great deal of satisfaction out of WWIV.
But Why? Why did I pick WWIV and continue to use and promote it?
Well, it is something like this. I've _always_ liked running BBSes. In my
Commodore days, my Father and I co-authored a BASIC BBS software program that
stayed online for 8 years without interruption. The experience of having more
than a "passing" acquaintance with the way the BBS actually ran, and the
control I had over its execution. made a very serious and lasting impression
on me. It was something I liked and something that I definitely looked for
when I switched over to IBM.
So when I first called Frank's WWIV BBS (Eagle's Dare) in Alaska and he
had me test various modifications that he had installed, I was hooked. Here I
found a BBS program that allowed the Sysops to make their BBSes anything they
wanted. I started going over his house. I watched him code the BBS from the
most basic and easy functions to some of the most complicated. I was, to be
honest, both fascinated and awed at the same time. Little did I know at the
time that those times with him would eventually lead to the place at which I
am now -- a prolific modification author in my own right.
This, in my way, explains one of the most redeeming features of WWIV. The
ability to make it _anything_ you want. To customize it in such a fashion as
to make yours the most unique BBS around. To have the control to make it
reflect your tastes and ideas of the way a BBS should look, and operate. None
of the other BBS softwares I have been exposed to have this capability, to
this extent.
If you see something that another BBS program has, then it is usually not
a big deal to code the same thing into WWIV. If you are not up to doing it
yourself, you can be sure that there are a number of other modders out there
that can, and will, gladly do it for you.
I was first impressed with the ease of installation. I was up and running
in literally a matter of a few hours. Everything I needed was there, and I was
accepting callers the same day. This is another mark in WWIV's favor. I did
try a few others and, honestly, they weren't as easy to set up. Just today I
spoke with a brand-new WWIV Sysop, and he, too, was extremely pleased with the
ease of installation and setup.
Once I decided to register WWIV (and it didn't take long to decide) I was
please to find that it was only $55 for complete registration and the source
code. I couldn't believe it! Today, at $85, it is still a steal. Try to match
that offer with any other BBS program. You may be able to find another that
cheap, but it won't have all the "extras" WWIV has.
What extras are those? Well, for one, overwhelming support for the
program. Even if you don't do the modification scene, there are literally
thousands of Sysops out there that can, and will, answer even the most basic
of questions. The author himself will answer your questions if you decide to
E-Mail him.
The other "extras" would include excellent networking. I know most of the
other major BBSes have networking. Most have bigger nets and more nodes. Be
that as it may, WWIV-style nets are, for the most part, friendlier. They're
more laid back, less "stressful," and more open to new users. I rarely
experience these qualities on the larger nets. Add to the network equation the
variety and number of netted subboards, which probably number in the multiple
thousands, and you literally have a cornucopia of interesting things to talk
about on any subject to people all over the world.
Additionally, there is outstanding external utility support. You do not
have to be a programmer or modify WWIV to get what you want. There are an
unbelievable number of "externals" out there that replace stock WWIV
functions. User editors, USER.LOG customizers, logon events, and more. And, if
you can't find what you're looking for, someone will write it.
Finally, there is the outright friendliness of the WWIV SysOp community.
While there are stick-in-the-mud's, they are few and far between. I have found
this association of SysOps to be out and out the easiest and nicest to be
around, and work with.
Recently, I heard a SysOp say that working on WWIV was like working on
your hot rod in your back yard when you were growing up. I find this to be
pretty accurate. Much of the work I do on my BBS includes making it run faster
and smoother, making the "paint job" nicer, or improving its "sound system"
(subboards/nets). Sometimes there is nothing as fulfilling as breaking out the
old source code and doing some tinkering. And, when you hit on something
particularly useful or nice, sharing it with your fellow Sysops can instill a
feeling of accomplishment and pride. Its like an old familiar friend after a
while. Its a learning experience. Its a fantastic way to meet new and
interesting people.
While WWIV has been described as a "hobby" BBS -- and it most certainly
is, there is no shame in that at all -- it does have the capability to compete
with all but the most "commercial" or "professional" BBS's.
About the only thing that can't be reasonably done (make no mistake,
tho', it can be done with WWIV, but not easily) is run one of these monster
multi-line, satellite connect, Internet real-time,
pay-by-the-month-for-access-using-your-Visa, informational service wannabes.
But those BBSes are so cold, unfriendly, and businesslike, and who but the
severely money-minded person wants to run a BBS like a business?
It is also evolving. The developers of WWIV, WWIV Software Services and
Wayne Bell in particular, listen to most reasonable suggestions and implement
the ones that are in popular demand. Look for improved memory management and
increased subboard/directory limits in the future. There also may be FIDO,
RIP, and OS/2 and Windows specific versions in WWIV's future, something that
should secure WWIV's place in BBS land for many years to come.
So, with its ability to be totally customizable, its low cost, ease of
installation, support, networking, friendly SysOps, and its future expansion
capabilities, WWIV remains the BBS software of my choice. I hope it remains
one for you, too!
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Man Who Had IceNET Named After Him ³ IceFreezr (3@1)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
It was 1990. I was 12 years old at the time and very fascinated by the
underground cyberworld that most people didn't know about. I called PC-Link
(before it became America Online) with my Tandy 1000 and learned the ropes
pretty quickly. I taught myself DOS and GW-BASIC pretty easily. Of course, you
had no choice back then - if you wanted to use the computer you had to learn
how to use it. Having an Atari prior to the Tandy taught me this. I progressed
onto a local multiline BBS which had a pretty good following at the time. A
lot of age groups called this board - from kids to adults.
Anyway, that's where I met Jim Nunn. One day he came on the board and
said that he bought a new computer. I put two and two together and told him to
start a BBS. Jim was confused at first but then got so excited he decided to
install the BBS on his brand new computer using his voice line. Another guy,
Mark, who I met on the chat BBS and was good friends with, was planning to set
up a BBS too. When he saw that Jim had set up a BBS, he had to get his going
right then. We learned about WWIVnet from the BBS software documentation and
found that we could start our own network.
Hence @1, The Great White North, and @2, The Northern Lights, were born.
With two such names, what would be a better name for a network than IceNET? I
managed all the network connections and we had 12 local boards connected at
one point. Jim was slowly learning what I was doing to keep the network going.
He then took over and amazingly got a New Orleans network connected. At this
point, I wrote the automatic network file updating software for IceNET. We
slowly got 50 systems in the network. At this point, the network software was
becoming too troublesome for each individual sysop to set up. Before I had a
chance to correct any problems with the software, Jim decided to purchase
NETUP from Wayne Bell in late 1992 - the mark of a serious hobby. The rest is
history. Although I am the founder of the network, I never would have had the
patience or desire to bring it as far as Jim has brought it today.
I am now 16 and have remained in the area of Telecommunications/BBS
programming for quite some time. I am about to release IceZmodem, a
Zmodem-compatible file transfer protocol which will have chat, DOS shell, a
text editor, a .MOD music player plus system information about the remote
system all while the transfer is taking place.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Great .QWK Debate - Survey Results and More ³ Papa Bear (1@5079)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.QWK (usually pronounced quick) -- The slightest mention of of this on
almost any networks' Sysoping subboard brings torrents of heated debate, both
pro and con, for its inclusion in/with WWIV (Ed. Note: Anyone ever noticed
that the QWK Debate tends to cycle? Every eight months or so).
First we must address this question: What is .QWK?
.QWK is, in its simplest form, a method where your users can download
[new] messages in a single "packet". Once they log off your BBS, they can use
an offline reader (OLR) program to read the messages. The OLR will also allow
them to to reply to these message and send private email (well, in most cases,
some .QWK/OLR interfaces may have problems properly handling private email
with WWIV). Once they are done with all of their reading and replying, the
user can then call the BBS, and upload their reply packet (which has a file
extension of .REP). Once the .REP packet is received, the .QWK interface that
the BBS uses will take the messages in the packet and route them to the proper
subboards/email.
Now we must ask: Why .QWK?
In the past, WWIV was primarily a "solo" type BBS, not connected to other
BBSes via any networks. In those days, there wasn't a lot of traffic on the
subboards, even on really busy BBS's. Then came single-net networking. Again,
even on busy BBS, and busy networked subboards, they still didn't carry enough
traffic to really infringe on the users' allotted amount of online time. In
each of these circumstances, it would take DAYS for the maximum number of
message per subboard (254) to "roll over" (meaning that when messages number
255 was posted, message number 1 would be deleted).
Recently, however, things have changed. While there is still that 254
maximum number of messages limit, there is the introduction of multi-network
capabilities. WWIV BBSes are no longer restricted to a single network, but are
capable of carrying 20+ nets. And, because of the increase in networks
available, there is an increase in the number of subboards. So where a "solo"
BBS may have had 20 subboards, a single-net subboard had perhaps 100, it is
not uncommon for a big multi-netted BBS to have upwards of 200. Also, with
more BBSes in the network, more messages are finding their way onto any given
subboard, thereby increasing the traffic flow as well.
Due to the sheer number of subboards and messages, the user is now, more
than ever, finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with all this
information. If they don't keep up, they may find something of importance to
them slipping by unnoticed. They just don't have enough online time to wade
through the sheer volume of messages.
.QWK solves this problem. [It should be noted that there is anther
offline messaging system for WWIV called WOMR. It accomplishes the same goal,
albeit in a differing format.]
And, in the future, this dilemma will only be compounded. WWIV is on the
verge of abolishing the 254 message limit -- its being increased to at least
32,768. It is also about to abolish the 999 subboard limit -- again to at
least 32,768. More subboards, and more messages simply mean more information!
WWIV is also about to have FIDOnet capabilities (or so rumors go). This
is perhaps the largest driving force for including .QWK with WWIV. As anyone
who's been on FIDOnet can attest, a popular echo (FIDO-ese for subboard) can
easily exceed 500 (!) messages per day. If you carry multiple FIDOnet echoes,
we're all the sudden talking massive information flow! It becomes literally
impossible for Joe-user to keep up when all they have available to them is
online time. An offline message system is a requirement to simply keep up.
And take Internet into consideration. With FIDOnet capabilities, Internet
is only a half-step away. The information flow then increases again, in some
cases two to three times what is carried on FIDOnet for some UseNET newsgroups
(UseNET newsgroups being the internet equivalent of a WWIV subboard).
That's the reason why .QWK is such a hot topic these days in the WWIV
world. Other BBS programs such as PCBoard, WildCat, and the like, already have
.QWK capabilities (I'll point out here that they aren't internal to those
programs).
.QWK *is* easily available to WWIV these days. For external usage,
WWIVMail/QWK and WOMR-QWK are available. For internal usage, Asylum's QWK mod,
and Barry's (Abiogenetic's) QWKmod (QWKmod can only be used with WWIV 4.23
with some modification -- and the source must be bought from Barry Watson who
seems to have dropped out of the WWIV scene recently)
Now, on to the controversy. It is hardly about whether or not .QWK should
be included with WWIV. No, the *vast* majority of respondents to the survey
agreed that it should.
The controversy is over whether or not it should be internal or external.
First, the pros and cons of each.
External .QWK interfaces have the definite advantage in the area of
memory consumption. They can easily be added as a command to the BBS proper,
or run as a door. Shrinking the BBS out of memory to run the external .QWK
interface basically moots any memory considerations.
They also have ease of upgrade, and configurability. Upgrading normally
means simply copying over the .EXE file over the old one. Configuring normally
means editing a normal ASCII file.
The cons of externals is compatibility. More than a few people have
reported problems running any .QWK external with their particular BBS setup.
Lock-ups, dropped message packets, and other problems have been reported.
There is also the support question. If the external program breaks, you
usually must rely on the author to fix it, and wait for the upgrade (it should
be noted here that WWIVMail/QWK does offer the source code for an additional
fee, but then you must know how to program, and what to do, to fix any
problems yourself).
Internal's pros include compatibility. If the person (people) who wrote
the .QWK mod used mostly internal WWIV routines, there is very little cause to
believe that it won't be extremely stable with your WWIV, in any environment.
Configurability. Unlike an external, an internal's configurability comes
from your being able to change the code at will. You can change the order in
which things happen, the way they happen, and the look/feel of the interface
with relative ease (again, some programming knowledge is preferable).
If cons definitely include memory consumption. Whereas the external could
swap out of memory to run, an internal resides in memory at all times, even
when unused. This can be a serious drawback to some systems (WWIV 4.24 should
alleviate this problem, and simply overlaying the EXE file reduces the extra
memory use to a few hundred bytes or so).
Implementation can also be a problem. Some people feel terribly skittish
about modifying their userrec - which Asylum's QWK mod does (but rest assured
that these modifications have no impact on the userrec except to use
previously unused space). QWKmod, while not modifying the userrec, *does*
require extensive re-modifications to properly support WWIV 4.23's multi-line
capabilities.
Now, with all that out of the way, on to the survey. A while back I
posted a public message on a number of networks asking for individual Sysop's
opinions on this. I received replies from WWIVnet, WWIVlink, IceNET, COMlink,
and SEXnet. An exceptional turnout, too! Without further ado, here are the
results:
For not including .QWK with WWIV in any form: 5%
For including it internally to WWIV : 45%
% wanting WWIV.INI support : 25%
% wanting #define support : 75%
NOTE: WWIV.INI support means that .QWK could be turned off/on from the
WWIV.INI file. This also means that it'd be in memory at all times,
even if not used, though overlaid.
#define support means toggling it off/on as a #define statement in
VARS.H. This reduces memory consumption if not used.
For including it externally with WWIV : 55%
% add WWIV.INI support : 5%
% add hook, like WWIVCHAT.EXE : 42%
% just run it as a door : 53%
So basically we have 55% for external, 45% internal, and %5 for not at
all. There doesn't appear to really be any clear winner here with %10 more or
less being the difference, which isn't much. But read on!
Some comments from the Sysop, these are all of a common theme. Thanks to
ALL the Sysops who took the time to write me!
1@14260 WWIVLink
But would also rather see it offered in a #defined approach, mostly so
that registered Sysops would be able to enable it...another reason to
register...I am sick of the wannabes running without registering!
1@3325 WWIVnet
Ummm.. I would like to see QWK included, in some fashion. It really
doesn't matter to me how it's done, as I'll just rip the code out, if
necessary.
1@3362 WWIVnet
As far as the #define or WWIV.INI goes, I don't care how it is handled. I
would like to see it be an external program supported as WWIVCHAT.EXE is
supported. I saw a good idea on one of the Sysop subs. Have a Minimal QWK
Packer included with WWIV (i.e. Only be able to send, receive, and quit).
1@6560 IceNET
QWK should be internal. We run Barry Watson's QWK mod and it works
fabulously. It should be a #DEFINE. Persons with modified user recs would then
not lose QWK ability.
1@8400 IceNET
No. There are fine EXTERNAL versions available now. Nothing of this sort
needs to be added to WWIV.
Now, finally, a word from Wayne Bell (Random), the author of WWIV
himself. This was taken from one of the many Sysop's subboards I'm on.
--- BEGIN QUOTE ---
Sure, along the way, some things that used to be 3rd party products have
had their functionality integrated into the WWIV and WWIVnet software, but
that has happened very infrequently, and has been long after the 3rd party
products first appeared.
There are a bunch of hooks in the BBS and net software to support 3rd
party products, such as epreproc.net, eprogs.net remotes.dat, logon events,
newuser events, etc.
If any 3rd party developer out there wants a simple hook added into the
stock BBS or net software, please just email me -- I'll be glad to add it in.
For example, the WWIVCHAT.EXE hook for the external multi-line chat. This is
my favorite kind - it runs it if the executable exists, but doesn't do
anything awkward if it does not exist. Really, if anyone has any desired
external hook somewhere, it would be no trouble to add in support for it (just
don't say, "Hey, I have a FORMAT.COM external I'd like to have added in..." I
do require that it have some bbs-related name so it doesn't conflict with
anything else.)
The callback stuff in v4.23, as I'm sure you all know, didn't work out so
well, and has been removed for v4.24. The guy who wrote it, Jim Wire, is now
working on an external newuser program (to replace the newuser validation, AND
callback stuff), which he'll be handling on his own, but which will have a
hook in the BBS to call it if it is there.
--- END QUOTE ---
What does this mean to .QWK? Well, it possibly means that .QWK will have
a hook just like WWIVCHAT does.
However, as someone else has pointed out, during this entire message,
Wayne mentions callback verifier, WWIVCHAT, and (not quoted) a full screen
editor (WWIVEdit). Noticeably missing was any mention of .QWK.
No matter how you feel about this, I'd be willing to bet it'll be settled
with the release of 4.24 at the soonest, and 4.25 at the latest. If you really
feel strongly either way, then email Wayne and let yourself be known. Remember
you paid (or should be about to pay) for this product, and its not
unreasonable to request something be included (or not)!
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ WWIV And The GEnie Online Service ³ Morgul (1@8315)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
As we all know, WWIV is an excellent BBS program. Unfortunately, it is
largely ignored by the majority of BBS sysops and publications because of 2
things: WWIV's unwarranted reputation as a "kiddie" BBS program and its lack
of exposure in the BBS community.
This lack of exposure comes about because WWIV is shareware. If WWIV was
a major commercial BBS program the resources and finances for major publicity
handling would be available. Nice glossy ads would be highly visible in trade
publications, articles would constantly be written about the software, and
major representation would be found at the major BBS conventions.
However, this is not the case. WWIV is a shareware BBS program and thus
doesn't get the exposure it deserves. The support for WWIV is all done by
volunteers on our own time and at our own expense. The facilities for the
fancy advertisements don't exist so we depend on word of mouth advertising.
It's up to each of us to promote our favorite BBS software whenever we can in
a reasonable manner.
That's where GEnie comes in. GEnie is an online service run by General
Electric. It's one of the cheaper online services, yet it offers many of the
features the more expensive ones do.
What do these two things have to do with each other? Well, many of you
may have noticed my messages announcing the WWIV discussion area on GEnie.
There is a Telecommunications and Bulletin Board System area on GEnie that is
devoted to, of all things, Telecommunications and BBS's. Many BBS systems are
represented there, either by the author(s) or by sysops knowledgeable in that
particular system.
A while back, a WWIV sysop, Midnight Tree Bandit, became the WWIV
representative on GEnie. He was the person responsible for fielding questions,
keeping the library full of up-to-date WWIV files, and hosting a weekly
discussion area for WWIV. This discussion area was open to anybody, no matter
what system, software, or platform. The main purpose of it was to help get the
word out about WWIV and to help anybody who had questions about WWIV. He
occasionally had guest speakers such as Wayne Bell, Filo, Tolkien, and Jim
Nunn.
When MTB moved on to bigger and better things, he asked me to take his
place as the WWIV representative. Naturally, I did, and have been for some
time now.
Each week, we have a live chat conference on GEnie about WWIV. There are
several regulars who attend, such as Barcus, Swordfish, and Warthog, to name a
few. In addition, we get other WWIV sysops, as well as sysops and users who
are curious about WWIV and want some additional information. The chats are
informal, generally informative, and usually lots of fun.
The chats are held each Tuesday at 10pm EST on GEnie, in the TC & BBS
roundtable (Page 610, option 2). Everyone is invited to attend and see what
it's all about. GEnie, as an online service, is very inexpensive ($8.95 per
month basic fee, 4 free hours, and $3.00 per hour connect charges). There are
local access numbers all across the country so it shouldn't cost you a long
distance charge.
Please, if you get a chance, come on by and check it out. Drop in on the
WWIV Chat and join in the fun! If you've got any questions about the chat,
GEnie, or anything like that, please feel free to email me and ask!
GEnie (c) 1994 is a trademark of General Electric Information Systems
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ W W I V - S P E C I F I C ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ How I Write A Modification For WWIV ³ Papa Bear (1@5079)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
I write a lot of modifications for WWIV. At this writing, I'm smack-dab
in the middle of writing my 44th. Its my largest by far, being a complete
replacement for the sub, dir, chain, and G-File editors.
Many, many people tell me they like my mods. They say they're easy to
install, easy to use, and usually preform a function that they really like or
need.
I don't normally do the "lookie feelie" type mods, although I do have a
couple in current release. I prefer to write ones that actually *do*
something, ones that are, in effect, more of an utility than a modification.
But that's me. My personal preference. There are many of the "lookie
feelie" mods out there, and they are just as valid as any of mine. In fact,
I've installed quite a number of them -- relying on them to make my BBS look
nicer.
I get quite a lot of satisfaction, of personal pride, when I know that
I've written something that a lot of people use and like. The E-Mail I get, as
little as it seems sometimes, lets me know that I'm doing something right. I
have to admit its a great ego boost.
But enough on WHY I write, or WHAT I normally write; let's move on to HOW
I write these things!
Step 1. Get the idea.
This can be the most frustrating part for me. Sometimes my own personal
muse just isn't there, and I can't think of anything. Other times, I find that
what I'm thinking about doing just doesn't hold my interest.
The two main ways I get ideas to use are my own experiences, and
suggestions from other users and SysOps. Occasionally, a general attitude that
something could be done better leads me onward. Reading the many SysOp and
modification subboards on the networks definitely feeds that last idea maker.
The most important portion of this step is: Define your goal. Determine
exactly what you want the modification to accomplish. If you like to add bells
and whistles (like I do!) leave those for later revisions, or, at the very
least, leave them out until the primary purpose of you mod has been met, and
is working properly.
There are, in my mind, "classes" of mods: Fixes, "lookie-feelies",
utilities, and games. These are all self-explanatory. Deciding on what "class"
to write a mod in can certainly determine what I'm gonna write, and how its
development will take place.
Step 2. Write up the code.
Now comes the actual "work". Since you have a defined goal, you should
have a reasonable idea what, exactly, you need to modify.
If you're like me, you'll just hop right in and starting writing... Of
course, before I do this, I *do* backup the source, and any other files that
the modification may end up accessing. No need to trash your BBS 'cause of a
simple mistake in coding.
Hopping right in and doing the code can be the WORST way to do things.
You *can* (and believe me, I have do this) mess things up terribly. I take
this as a great learning experience. Over time, I don't do this as often,
(mess things up, that is) thankfully!
Another way to do this would be to take notes on what you wanna do, what
C files, functions, data files, etc. will be affected, and then carefully
proceed with the job.
In any case, I suggest writing up the bulk of the code, getting it to
some working condition, and then compiling. Test the changes, make notes on
what needs fixed and/or clarified. Then make the changes and (maybe) add a
little more code. Recompile, test, repeat over and over until you're done!
Program for virgin source. Do not program a modification intending to
take any other modifications into consideration (unless, of course, that is
your intention). Also avoid *any* and *all* compiler specific
functions/macros. For instance, some Borland C++ functions starting with _ (an
underscore), like _findfirst() may not compile under Turbo C++.
Step 3. Write up the modification docs.
I do this right now because I want to include the mod docs in the testing
stage. I also tend to write up the docs WHILE I'm actually writing code. That
way, if I add some little piece of code in a not-so-obvious place, I can
document it immediately.
Documentation *needs* to be COMPLETE. Every little thing you've added,
taken out, or changed needs to be documented, clearly, in the .MOD file.
Keep in mind that the documentation is actually the most important part
of the process. If it is not documented clearly and concisely, then the end
user won't be able to install it, and the coding becomes moot.
Write for the BEGINNER. Even for hard mods that most beginners wouldn't
attempt, writing in this manner can be a God-send.
Step 4. TEST, TEST, TEST
The second most important step. I do this in two smaller steps, one of
which I've already described.
First, test as you go. This way you can catch little errors and bugs as
they happen, and it is *much* easier to squash them.
Secondly, alpha test it. I consider this a totally personal stage. I test
each component of the modification to make sure it behaves properly. The
MECHANICS of the mod are important here, not the presentation. That comes
later. I fix anything that pops up.
Step 5. Get other people to test.
áeta test your modification! Make sure to tell your testers to back-up
any relevant files.
Because you can be too familiar with your new creation, it becomes
important to let other people use it to help you determine if everything is
working properly.
Take their reports, and act on them. I believe it is a poor modder that
ignores the áeta testers.
Now is the time to fix any presentation problems, squash any leftover
mechanical bugs, etc...
This is also a great time to "tighten" up the code. Make it more
streamlined so it operates more efficiently and uses less memory (DGROUP and
HEAP are important considerations for large mods).
Some additions to usability may be added in this step. If so, go back to
Step 2 and go through the steps again. I end up doing a lot of this at this
point. And it helps, believe me!
All of this testing can reduce, and in most cases eliminate entirely,
those irritating little "FIX" files that you see from time to time on MOD NET.
Making certain yourself, and not using the general WWIV populace as
guinea pigs, that all of the bugs and typos are gone will also boost the trust
people have in your mods, and increase your reputation as a good programmer.
Step 6. Double check code/modification write-up.
At this point I re-read EVERYTHING. Documentation, the modification code,
menus, text files, everything.
When I'm satisfied that all is well, I take a copy of virgin source and
do a first-time installation. This means following my own instructions to the
letter. I catch a lot of "little" things here that can be frustrating to the
non-modders. Once installed, I compile, and test the executable.
Once I'm convinced its all okay, Step 7 takes place.
Step 7. Release for general usage.
This is the fun part, and the most nervous time for me. Will it be a
success, will it work okay for other people, will people LIKE it?
You will most likely get E-Mail saying that someone installed your mod.
Do not be surprised if you get mail indicating it doesn't work. But, if you've
followed these steps, you'll find you get a LOT more mail telling you they've
installed it and liked it. Its a great feeling when that happens.
It is important to SUPPORT your mod. If someone claims it doesn't work,
it is up to you to help.
Keep in mind that you programmed for virgin source. You will, eventually,
get feedback from irate SysOps telling you it doesn't work with such-and-such
mod. At this point, try to help them. If you can't, politely tell them that
you tested in in virgin source, and any conflicts with any other modifications
cannot be anticipated, and that they will most likely have to resolve the
problem themselves. I've had great success maintaining this course for
modification support.
And, eventually, you'll be updating your mod if you stick with WWIV and
modding for any amount of time. You'll want to update it for future versions
of WWIV. You'll want to add new bells and whistles. Whatever. Just follow
these steps, and you'll do well. At least I have! :)
Good luck, and good modding!
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ WWIV Dreams: The Future and Beyond ³ NightSpeed (1@5051)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Being a WWIV sysop has many advantages, but I will be the first to admit
that WWIV does have its disadvantages as well. That's what this article is
about: the future of WWIV and what can be done to make it better and more
enjoyable not only for the Sysop, but for the users and the millions of people
each year that log onto a WWIV board and find that a key feature they need is
not available to them.
In my opinion, WWIV has been in need of some key additions to the
software for quite some time. It needs an internal .QWK mail function or a
simpler and more efficient Sub Board selection (although it's pretty easy now,
it could be easier), or a Front End-type mailer that could finally bring WWIV
Sysops FidoNet, Internet, and .QWK-style network capability to link up with
the rest of the world that isn't running WWIV or VBBS. I thought that in this
article I could share a few of my own ideas on what should and shouldn't be
changed in WWIV v4.24+ and beyond.
I was one of those that strayed from WWIV to run VBBS and have seen how
the other side lives and operates their boards. I'll admit that VBBS is an
excellent BBS software, but some of the key features that are simple, down to
earth, and efficient in WWIV are just a pain in the behind to do in VBBS. I
won't go into much detail because to do so would be simply slamming the VBBS
Software Package, which I do not wish to do. Instead, we can use it to learn
more on how to increase our own Software's expendability.
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ= Networks And Beyond =ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
From the beginnings of WWIV v4.21a, Wayne Bell has introduced vast new
changes in the network capabilities of WWIV, thus increasing the amount of
networks capable of sending and receiving WWIV mail many times over. With
versions v4.22 and 4.23, he has fine tuned this networking into a quick, easy,
and worry free system that sysops and users alike find simple and easy to
operate and move around in. Although Wayne Bell and his production team have
done wonderful work in this field, more can still be done to enhance WWIV
networking capabilities.
One of the main features I feel that WWIV needs to add as part of its
stock setup is some sort of Front End mailing system, perhaps similar to the
one built into VBBS, which is fast, simple, and extremely efficient. Here is
my vision of what WWIV may look like in the future. I have substituted some
information for the purpose of demonstration:
---------------------------Example Number One----------------------------
World War IV Multi-Instance Bulletin Board System (C) 1988,1994 v4.25
WWIV Software Services Multi-Network Engine (WW4MNE) v1.00 (Reg #10101)
You are connected at 14400 to Amber on Instance 1
Error-Free Connection Detected
Detecting valid Networks
Press [Esc] Twice or wait for BBS.
NN:
**EMSI_REQA77E
Checking for Ansi Capability
![e Testing for RIPterm Compatibility
---------------------------End Of Example--------------------------------
Notice that the software would FIRST detect the WWIV type network, then
would go on to check for a FidoNet-based network and then from there if no
network is detected, it would simply check the terminal emulation being used
and continue on. Of course, the user logging on can bypass all of this by
simply hitting [Esc] twice just like in FrontDoor or any other Front End
system.
The simplest way for this to be achieved is simple. The software would
first detect the NN: type WWIV Network, and if it responds, then the WWIV
network software (Net xx) would be called and network packets would come
through normally as if the Front End did not exist. All network preprocessors
that the sysop might have installed such as PackScan or AutoSend would be
unaffected as well and would operate normally.
As for FidoNet, this is a different story. The way that the software
would handle FidoNet mail transfers varies and would be up to Wayne Bell how
he would like to incorporate it. Wayne Bell and his development team could
incorporate it in one of two methods:
1) The network detection phase would, upon detection of a FidoNet
network, run an external FidoNet mail processor which would toss the mail and
messages into WWIV and as well could toss any FidoNet information going OUT
into the network.
2) The Network Detection Phase would call an internal routine that would
in turn process all FidoNet mail similar to the methods used currently by
WWIV's NET software. Although the methods I have used to demonstrate my point
are rather crude, they do generally show what I'm getting at.
As for Internet- and UUCP-type networks, this is a different story and
possibly could be added in future versions of the network engine (WW4MNE or
WWIV Multi-Network Engine) could add support, but in my opinion it should be
done in a way that would allow for NO external BBS software or programs to be
used to handle the mail and newsgroups that would be received. This is so that
the Sysop would not have to incur any additional charges in registering other
software programs, similar to how WWIV registration also includes the network
software.
As for .QWK network capabilities similar to those used in WildCat and
PcBoard BBSes, that's another feature that could be incorporated into WWIV's
Front End mailing system. I'll admit I have no idea how the actual mail works
in that manner, but like I've said, the Front End would just call a program
that would handle all the mail and toss in and out the data.
A user recently posted on the IceNET National Sysops Only sub that he
would like to be able to request files from a remote system. This is a
wonderful idea for the sysop who likes to add a variety of files to his system
and call long distance to get them. I'm sure that a few sysops out there are
probably thinking, "Hey, you can't do that, it'll bog down the network," but
in reality, no network access whatsoever would be required to have this
feature. This feature in FidoNet land called file FREQing (File REQuesting).
Another method was tried in WWIV called SNARFing files but with no success
[Ed. Note: a program known as WW4FREQ is currently under development by
Shakespear, 2@2050. This program will serve to provide file-FREQing under
WWIV, probably using the !-@REMOTE@-! hook already built into the software.]
Using the Front End, the BBS could accept requests for files from other
systems using the following method:
The sysop presses a key and the BBS requests a file to receive.
The system then asks for a network node number, and then scans
the net listings for the appropriate system phone number. If no
system exists, then the BBS simply requests a phone number. The next
time the BBS polls it's network connects, the BBS calls the
system DIRECTLY (not by network), requests the file via the Front-
End, and logs off, saving the remote SysOp time and money it
would have taken him to get it by logging on as NEW.
I admit, some bugs need to be worked out in my plan, but it is a solid
base for a file request system for WWIV.
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ= Internal Mail Features =ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Papa Bear recently posed the question on the IceNET National Sysops Only
Sub asking whether or not WWIV should include a built-in .QWK Mail processing
system. [Ed. Note: See the results of Papa Bear's survey elsewhere in this
issue] Some sysops have asked, "Why do we need it?" Well, I pose the question,
"Why in the heck not?" It would make life a little easier for some sysops who
are currently using WWIVMail or some other .QWK generating program if it was
internal. Besides, it's already been done. Several mods have been released
that do this; the most versatile and efficient mod being Asylum's Internal
.QWK mod available now.
Another viable addition that could be added to WWIV is an internal full
screen editor. Some Sysops may argue, "But I have WWIVEDIT and it works just
fine!" Yes, WWIVEDIT does work and it's an excellent utility, but perhaps the
addition of an internal full screen editor is something that WWIV needs.
Remember that there are a few sysops who cannot run WWIVEDIT because they are
running their boards on a old XT or 286 and they cannot sacrifice the memory.
An internal editor doesn't have to be anything especially fancy, just editing
with cursor key movements and some simple deleting features. No dictionary or
spell checking is necessary. The way it is now, if you screw up a line, you
have to use the /RL command to delete the ENTIRE line and type it all over
again. This is a pain and can be quite nerve-wracking, especially for those
users that do not type very well. Again, the mod has been already written. I
believe it was Unca Scrooge who wrote this one and it's an excellent addition,
but it's still a mod that has to be inserted and debugged.
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ= Future Ideas for WWIV =ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
I'll admit I don't have all the answers, but I do have dreams and ideas
on improving WWIV. WWIV is an excellent software and we the Sysops and users
of it should make suggestions, because perhaps, or we like to think, our
suggestions will be heard.
Wayne Bell has taken the first step already by having a Modding Contest.
This is excellent, but not enough. A contest and a prize should NOT be an
incentive to make additions. Just the idea of making this software better and
the fact that we will be running it for a long time should be incentive
enough. Perhaps Wayne Bell will incorporate some of the hundreds of
modifications out there into the stock source, and maybe he won't, but if
so... he should do it like so:
ALL future additions to WWIV should be done using the #define in VARS.H.
Not only to give the Sysop the option of turning ON/OFF the features that they
want, but also to give non-registered sysops incentives to go out and register
their copies!
I hope that some of you will read my article and think of WWIV in a
different way. We the Sysops have a say in what features we do and don't want
in our software and we should be grateful that we can make changes utilizing
source code to do whatever we feel is necessary to make our boards feel like
our own, like a piece of ourselves.
I will be continuing my series of articles on WWIV dreams and do welcome
any suggestions or criticisms that you may have. Please send me your ideas,
and I promise to read them and send you a response
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Asylum Group: This Is Who ³
³ We Are and Here Is What We Do ³ Zu Digital (1@7321), Sam (1@2077)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º "COMMON" Modifications - A History º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
COMMON was conceived to be a set of functions to make WWIV just a little
more visually pleasing. My idea of the COMMON series started before COMMON was
even thought of being created, I just didn't realize it yet. With the creation
of the Pulldown Menus, about 1 year before COMMON ever came out, I had sure
plans of making an interface that, number one, used the arrow keys to
navigate, and two, just looked better than the "tty" you have grown to learn
and love.
In all actuality, COMMON was not my second generation of arrow-key
modifications. After the Pulldown Menus were first built (for internal use
only) I went to the NTC (for the Army) in California for 30 days. While on
guard duty, I planned what would be built and dubbed it "EMS," or Evolution
Menu System. The Evolution was not to be judged by today's current menu
interfaces for regular DOS applications, but against BBS programs. It evolved
from the tty interface, to my Pulldown Menus, to the EMS library which was
written in C++.
I then decided to start releasing my modifications. But I knew that
another set of functions would be required to do such, written in C, as WWIV
will not compile in C++ mode.
Needless to say, COMMON now exists because of that reason.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Pulldown Menus- The Birth of Asylum º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
With my first major mod, the Pulldown Menus, I saw what happens to a
fairly good mod when I don't play by a certain set of rules.
I had a completed mod, one that I knew was good, but where do I go from
here? How is someone supposed to know what your mod will do for them and how
do they know that they "need" to install your mod?
First off, I made the menus all hard coded, didn't do proper bug testing,
and ended up posting it, completely, about 4 times on Modnet. I knew this was
not the best way to go about things, but I wasn't really sure about exactly
_what_ it was that I needed to do.
Then, through a twist of fate, I found Sam (he posted something about the
Pulldown Menus and I called his board to see them somewhere besides my board)
and Asylum was born.
My original plan for Asylum was to have a number of fictitious members
along with myself and Sam, to make us look like an good-sized, organized
group. I felt that people would take a "groups'" word over a single person
saying "Use this mod! It's cool, and you need it." And with the size of the
mods I planned on releasing I figured I could pass it off.
Well, the group name stuck, but we never did get around to adding the
fictitious members. Instead, we added quite a number of real people that
wanted to be apart of something real. Theses are very brave sysops, our Beta
Testers, who have helped us to release a stable product, one that won't get
killed right after it is released from massive BBS breakdown/crashes etc.
Sam helped me with everything from getting into the network (that
experience will be in another article) to registering WWIV to getting my mod
introduced. We re-wrote the pulldown menus and tried again, learning as we
went, but using a little more common sense in the process. Sam was an
up-and-coming C programmer himself at the time, and was learning, literally,
by the seat of his pants.
We then saw a little more success with the second version, especially
after I made the menus more easily-configurable with the Pulldown Menu
Compiler, eased up on the STACK, removed quite a bit of D-group hogging, and a
LOT of bug fixes.
Even though I found that Pulldown menus maybe aren't the best menu
interface for a bulletin board, I did not give up with my ideas of making the
interface of other aspects of a WWIV BBS a little more fun and a LOT easier.
We found the main problem with our Pulldown Menu System was that sysops
know how to use WWIV and do not need to use menus (myself and Sam included).
Of those that _did_ put it in, they reported their new callers simply loved it
and loved the ease at which they were able to navigate through the menus. Of
course, callers using "expert" status would never know they were there.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º The Making of a COMMON Modification º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
The first stage of a COMMON mod, if it is to become good enough to be
called Asylum, is to come up with an idea that needs to be implemented,
followed by an extensive design process. Believe it or not, the design phase
is the most tedious and time-consuming portion of writing an Asylum
Modification. I rarely jump right into a huge mod and just start coding. It
may be in my mind for a month before I do anything while I ponder over various
ways to start to write this in text mode, followed by pseudo-code, then
finally, C code. This is true of the Pulldown Menus, ListPlus (which had a
design life of something like 2 1/2 months) and QWK.
Inspiration comes at weird times. Sometimes at work when I have a few
minutes, I will jot down on paper some design criterion and places I would
like to go with the mod and decide what areas I am going to ignore for the
time being. Believe it or not, a lot of ideas come to me in the last place you
would think they would... the shower, in a chat with one of my callers, at
work, and of course, in conversation with Sam on the phone.
I eventually come up with a pretty rough idea how it will work. Once the
program has enough features added that I think others would like to try it
out, I go ahead and have Sam try it out. If it can make it through HIS complex
set up, it can make it through about anything. Inevitably, Sam sends in some
bug reports, along with a HUGE amount of added-feature requests.
Sam and I finally work out things and decide it is time to let our
collection of BRAVE beta testers give it a try. Again, in come a few bug
reports and more added-feature requests. The months pass on, the mod we are
working on grows into crazy proportions, and finally Sam and I decide, "What
the heck, let's release it on the net."
Need I say what happens? MORE bug reports, even after 6+ months of
extensive beta-testing by the greatest team of beta testers ever assembled
(save that of Wayne's beta-testing team). QWK recently had a dandy of a bug
that went completely undetected in the initial six months of testing only to
be found the very next day after it was released on Modnet by a very observant
Dave Wallace and Emerald Lady. Needless to say, they are now members of our
beta testing team.
Within days, we actually have a working error-free version.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Listplus º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
I was resting on the laurels of my Pulldown Menus and we were feeling
rather proud of ourselves. Then one day, I called a local Vision/2-based BBS.
It was simply awesome and put what I felt (at the time) was my greatest
achievement, my Pulldown Menus, to complete shame. I decided I HAD to write
something of that quality for myself... for WWIV. So in a 6 hour long-distance
phone call between me and Sam, a new concept was born that was destined to
revolutionize WWIV's transfer section: Listplus.
Public Relations was going to be critical if this was going to work. At
the time, there were a number of file-tagging mods available. Frank Reid's was
(possibly) the most popular. By this time, most all sysops that wanted file
tagging had already installed one of the existing taggers and didn't feel like
digging it out just to install a new one that "claimed" to be better...
especially by a couple of guys that called themselves "Asylum."
Sam posted numerous plugs about my new file-tagging mod. He showed it to
every sysop that called his board. That met with a lukewarm reception.
Something more was needed.
I remember a post about a sysop who lost his back up and started over. He
looked for the same file tagger he had before, but couldn't find it. Luckily
our tagger was still on his sub and he put it in. The sysop posted a very nice
comment, something along the lines of not being able to stay in his chair when
he ran it and not believing what he saw (gee, the same feeling I got when I
saw the Vision/2 file listing).
With that, combined with a few other posts from people who took a chance
and tried it and more plugs by Sam, Listplus went from being "just another
file tagger" to a network-wide craze. EVERYONE, it seemed, was going ga-ga
over Listplus. People were calling and e-mailing from everywhere wanting it
and anything and everything else from Asylum.
Asylum-mania had begun.
As time went on, Listplus went from a fairly "rigid" mod without any
configurations or extras other than the arrow key tagging, to a mod that
supported extended descriptions, the most complete search/finding routines I
have seen on ANY BBS, user configurable file listing, and, finally, plenty of
sysop configuration options such as being able to set the color while in the
BBS for most any item, as well as being able to toggle most features on and
off.
I also had the good luck of WWIV v4.23 coming out. Good luck because I
was able to test it on all 4.22 users and had a _legitimate_ reason of posting
all the fixes that had been done to it (labeled "4.23 version of List Files
Plus" in its entirety on Modnet).
By this time, I came up with my own ideas of making my mods a little more
popular as well as having my own confidence in my mods grow.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Asylum QWK º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
With the popularity of ListPlus, I felt we were about as high as we would
get in WWIV modding. Then, Sam went multi-line and found (as did many others)
that most (all we tried) QWK mail packet generators would not work (at that
time) with non-standard IRQs.
Asylum to the rescue.
I started writing Asylum QWK around September of 1993, but lost interest.
But with Sam going multi-line/multi-node, I now had a legitimate reason to put
a concentrated effort into its development. Armed with possibly the greatest
beta-testing team ever assembled (save Wayne's), we put Asylum QWK through a
vigorous six month test period. Finally, in May, 94, it was released on
Modnet. As it turns out, the beta team caught all but two minor bugs and one
major bug. Not to bad for a mod of this proportion. Those bugs were all killed
and now Asylum QWK is the fastest QWK packet generator (that we have found)
for WWIV on the market. It has many features not found in other similar
products, such as the ability to configure your Q-Scan from _within_ QWK, your
ability to set how many (in numbers, not bytes) messages you would like to be
able to download from each sub (as well as the total packet), and an option to
allow you to take a percentage of posts from each sub (and it is internal, so
the same functions that limits a users time for the BBS are used in Asylum
QWK).
But the best option of all... it is free (though we will not refuse any
money <g>).
The public response to Asylum QWK has gone off the meter. Those who have
tried it have absolutely fallen in love with its speed, flexibility,
versatility, and reliability. And if I must say so myself, our product support
has been second to none. Sam and I both have gone so far as to call people
voice at our own expense to help them get things set up and running right. So
far, no one (to our knowledge) has been disappointed.
We have offered the code to Wayne and WWIV Software Services free of
charge to include in WWIV. There has been a lot of debate on this topic on the
IceNET Sysops Only sub, with the vast majority of sysops opting for it to be
included as either a #define option or as a WWIV.INI option. With the onset of
v4.24 of WWIV and it's virtually unlimited message base capability (in numbers
of posts you can keep in each sub), some sort of QWK is going to be nearly
mandatory. By including a QWK package in WWIV, it offers a very useful option
and makes WWIV more attractive to new sysops. By making a way to turn it off
(by #define or INI), you appease those few sysops who would rather not have
it. And by making it free, everyone can use and enjoy it without having to
worry about sending money to someone to stop shareware delays or gain added
features.
We understand that other mail generators are available, but it is our
opinion that the generator should be apart of the package of WWIV, included in
the same $80 as WWIV itself.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Marketing º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Marketing opportunities have come in the strangest ways. After seeing all
that Sam had done to promote Asylum, I though he had covered just about every
avenue available.
But as I saw, with a little luck, creativity, and a little opposition,
Sam could still make people not only stand up and take notice of Asylum but he
was actually able to get them discussing it! Sam unintentionally started a
product war on the Sysops Sub and, because of that, the Asylum Group is now
getting more attention than ever. I had sysops calling my board to find QWK
who didn't even know anything about ListPlus, let alone COMMON. Through
careful planning, inadvertent help from JAFO, a little luck and the many
people posting their opinions supportive of Asylum, I now find people not
knowing about Asylum very few and far between.
With the popularity of Asylum QWK (it has already been downloaded over
150 times from Sam's BBS in just one week) and the fact that COMMON must be
installed to have QWK run, I find my previous mods now riding on the coat
tails of my newest mod. New users on my board (sysops in their own rite) that
didn't even know ListPlus, COMMON, Super Config, Pulldown Menus, and my few
non-COMMON mods existed are becoming institutionalized in Asylum themselves.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º The Future º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
The future for Asylum (and WWIV) is very bright. Ideas we are kicking
around include modifications to the sublist and dirlist functions, G-Files and
Defaults. Maybe something will pop up, possibly a network optimizer that will
take huge packets from servers and optimize them into message data file,
taking out redundant posts, leaving text files for each system, so that the
distant node can rebuild these packets into the correct form that the network
software wants to see it in. Sam is currently writing a new voting section
done in Asylum fashion. We have gone about as far as we can go with Listplus,
QWK may have a little untapped potential in it, but it is time to move on. Any
ideas people have are always considered, so if you are using one of these and
have an idea for a feature, be sure to let us know.
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Closing Thoughts º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
The motto we live by at Asylum is "Make 'em say "Wow!" Not only through
the flash and pizzazz we put into every effort, but through product support as
well.
We strive in every modification we release to do just that.
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³ WWIV and OS/2 ³ Will (1@6754)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
The introduction of WWIV 4.23 brought about a fundamental change in BBS
system requirement. Back in the days of WWIV 4.22 and before, the optimal BBS
system, from a price/performance standpoint, was perhaps a 286-10. A faster
machine was nice to have, but your average user generally wouldn't notice any
difference in how the BBS behaved.
Version 4.23's multi-instance capability tossed this conventional wisdom
right into the proverbial bit bucket. Not only did the system requirements of
the system itself increase, but, using a multi-tasking operating environment,
you could run a local node, or two remote nodes, or even more. In the past,
the ability to multi-task had been a nice extra for those with one computer.
Now, it's become almost indispensable for nearly every sysop.
There are several ways to implement a multi-tasking environment for a
BBS. For those with lower end systems, Quarterdeck's Desqview multi-tasker
will suffice. While it does a great job with minimal resources, support for
newer graphical (Windows, etc) programs increases the requirements
dramatically. Microsoft Windows 3.1 (and more recently, Windows for Workgroups
3.11, which is outselling it's companion product by a large margin) is another
option. While Win 3.1 certainly provides a graphical environment, most sysops
find it to be unstable. Support for high-speed communications routines leaves
something to be desired, and in the end it can be difficult to keep an
instance or two online all night, let alone around the clock, or when the
sysop is on vacation.
IBM's Operating System/2 (OS/2) Version 2.1 (and the slightly newer 2.11)
provides a solution to all these problems, providing unmatched power, speed,
and flexibility. While it's not for every one, OS/2 will let you juggle
multiple instances with ease.
One main OS/2 consideration is hardware. While it's not nearly as
resource hungry as it's main competitor, Windows NT. Microsoft Daytona (NT
3.5, in beta at this writing) eases off on some of the memory and system
requirements, but OS/2 is still considerably leaner. A safe memory target to
shoot for is between 8 and 12 megabytes. After 16, performance gains tend to
level off. For a processor, at least a 386dx-33 or 40 is recommended, and
something in the 486 range will help increase performance. Keep in mind that
OS/2 can be run on more minimal configurations, as long as the system setup is
optimized.
These constraints will be loosed even more with the release of IBM's
newest OS/2, the so called "Performance OS/2." Currently in a wide beta
release (we were unable to obtain a copy in time for this writing, but expect
more information in the next issue of IceNEWS), this new release lowers the
memory ceiling to 4 megabytes for operations, and supposedly runs quite well
in 8 megabytes. Other performance increases, kernel streamlining, and
considerably more are also rumored to be in the works, along with Windows NT
application support (which is not currently available in the Beta version).
Once OS/2 is installed on your system, there are certain steps you can
take to boost performance before you even create a WWIV program object. The
first is to install Ray Gwinn's SIO device driver (current version 1.30). This
replaces the COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS drivers that provide OS/2's built in serial
application support, improving speed and reliability. Installation is simple -
unzip the archive, and run the SIO install program. SIO also comes with a
device driver for DOS sessions, VX00.SYS. This driver mimics a fossil,
providing support for games and other programs that need it. More about
installing VX00.SYS in a bit.
If you have a large amount of RAM (16 megabytes or more), it makes sense
to increase the size of the disk cache. To do this, edit the OS/2 CONFIG.SYS
file. There's a line that begins with the statement DISKCACHE=xxxxx (it's
followed by some additional switches). Increase the number (xxxx) to 2
megabytes (2048) or so. Experiment to see what works best for your system. For
more information on DISKCACHE, you can look it up in the OS/2 Command
Reference by typing 'HELP DISKCACHE' at either a DOS or OS/2 command prompt.
Another performance trick involves the "EA DATA. SF" file. This is the
file that OS/2 uses to keep track of the extended attribute (EA) data for the
various files on your hard disk. There will be one of these files in the root
directory of each partition. OS/2 access these files a lot, and they become
fragmented, (in other words, the constant read-write action scatters the
components of the file all across the physical area of your hard disk,
increasing the access time). This can be easily rectified with a DOS
disk-defragmentation program, even the DEFRAG utility that comes with MS DOS 6
and above. To do this, simply dual boot into DOS, and type 'attrib -h -r -s
EA*.*'. Then run DEFRAG, and type 'attrib +h +s +r EA*.*'. When you boot back
into OS/2, you'll notice a substantial performance gain. The file fragments
quickly, so do this every week, or even more often.
After you've created your WWIV program object (refer to the manuals if
you're unsure how to do this), you'll need to tweak the settings for the
session a bit. To do this, right click on the object, and select
Open->Settings. Click on the Session tab, and click the DOS Settings button. A
list will pop up. Don't worry if it looks daunting - only a few of these will
want for changing:
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION - This should be set to On, as you'll want the
BBS to continue it's functioning when it's not the active application.
DOS_HIGH - This will provide, in some cases, more memory to the BBS
application.
DOS_UMB - This can be set to on, allowing for more memory conservation
(letting you load DOS TSR's into UMB blocks). Since the BBS doesn't require
UMBs, this is ok to have on. If you have an external program or a door that
requires Upper Memory, then this should be set to off.
DOS_DEVICE - This is where you can load an ANSI driver, the VX00
faux-fossil, and other device drivers. Just type the path to the driver into
the box. For example:
C:\SIO\VX00.SYS C:\UTIL\ZANSI.SYS or C:\OS2\MDOS\ANSI.SYS
The other OS/2 settings can generally be left alone, although you may
want to experiment with the IDLE_SECONDS and IDLE_SENSITIVITY controls,
especially if you have an older, slower computer, and/or limited memory. If
you're running SIO, the SIO_Allow_Access_ComXX (where XX is the com port your
modem is attached to) should be set to on.
That's all you should need to start taking advantage of OS/2 and WWIV.
Even if you're not running a BBS, most of the performance tips in this article
still apply (all of them, in fact). If you have any others ways to boost OS/2
performance, send email to 1@6754 IceNET or wcrawfor@nyx.cs.du.edu. We may
include them in a future article.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Making of a Mod ³ Spotnik (WWIVnet 1@5497)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Hi everyone. I was a bit surprised when they asked me to write an article
about my modifications, but of course, I accepted without any problems. First
of all, I will tell you now that I'm very good in text composition, but in
French not English. I'm sorry if you don't understand some part of this text!
I have very good skills in English, but it still basic, not technical.
So here I am, writing about modifications that I've done, and how I do
them. To do so, I must start by explaining what did I get started modding
WWIV, otherwise it would be worthless.
I began in 1990, not knowing anything about C like many WWIV sysops. I
mostly learned by looking at others' work and my cosysop's advice. Actually I
consider him, to date, as probably the most creative WWIV modder of the 1990s.
I remember logging on his WWIV v4.11 and his having a multi-nodal and
conferenced system. He always kept his modifications for himself and that's
why most people don't know him. I learned C because of him, he helped me a
lot. He learned C by doing modifications for WWIV and reading Borland's
manual.
He helped me a lot because he always told me to do my modifications
myself. I guess if I can do it, most people can! We decided only recently to
work together to release modifications. I think of the modifications and he
does the coding.
Over the years I tried writing for myself. I learned by myself and by
looking at other peoples' work. Like everyone else, I started by installing
modifications from Mod Net and then by asking for help because the first
release never works (that hasn't changed much).
Eventually, I released my first modification like many people do. Mine
printed the sub name above the read prompt and stuff like that.
I have learned that in order to release a good and popular modification,
you will need the following things: experience, knowledge, imagination,
determination and patience. Without these attributes, it isn't even worth
starting.
Step 1 - Brainstorming
The first step in the modification process is probably the most
important. It's to use your brain and think of something original. If a
modification already exists that does what you want to do, then you have to do
it better than everyone else, and do it your own way.
Many people like me might take existing code from previously released
modifications and try to optimize it in our own way. That's how I started. I
think it's a waste of time to start from scratch when there is a modification
already in existence that does what you want to accomplish. When I do that I
will give credit to the author of the original modification.
Now is the time to think about what you want to do. Draw it on paper, or
in The Draw to see what it will look like. This is called the "brainstorming"
stage.
Once you have in mind a sketch of what you wish to do, it's time to
start! Of course, a small survey might help. Usually when I do a modification,
I look at things that are already in existence, either in WWIV or other BBS
software, and try to come up with a mod that does the same thing. If the mod
doesn't exist, you will have more problems because you will have to write all
of the functions yourself.
Step 2: Body Work
It's almost the war! You finally get to learn more about C. Usually the
attributes I stated earlier start here. You need experience because if you
don't know WWIV internal functions, it will be your personal hell. If you
don't have programming knowledge, you will freak at your first error and might
give up. You need determination because this can be a long process. One other
thing you need is time. I usually do my modifications in the night because I
like to be calm and to have nobody around to bug me.
Patience: it's a virtue, and it's needed. Technology might get better,
but compiling WWIV 4 years ago on a 286 machine took 30 minutes! Find a bug,
even if it's one character, and it might take 1 hour to re-compile. Once you
have done your work, and that the result is what you expected, it's time to
move to next level.
Step 3: Beta Testing
Your BBS becomes a laboratory.
I run a WWIV Support Board and this helps me a lot because I have many
users that know WWIV very well. When your mod is for the sysop side, they can
either help you, or start to bug you to have it right away even if it's not
quite ready.
I never gave modifications in beta testing. The WFC modification was an
exception because it was on the sysop side and I needed second opinions.
At this level you should start to optimize the modification and fix the
its appearance to make it user friendly and to fit with the look of your BBS.
After a while, you'll know it's ready to go out on the net.
When you are proud of your work you may decide to release it to show your
skills to other sysops. Don't be afraid to say it, we don't release mods on
the net to meet the goal of "enhance the future of man - B. Gates", but for
our own personal ego. I can keep all my mods for myself like my cosysop always
did, but personally, I like to know that people appreciate what I'm doing.
I spend a lot of hours for myself, of course. I don't do modifications by
request. The more you want to impress yourself (and of course your users - in
fact, that's the beginning of it), the more you'll get ambitious and release
quality modifications. That, in fact, is a choice that human beings make to
work this way, otherwise, Mod Net would be a quite dead sub.
Step 4: Writing the Text File
Nightmare! You'll wish to do a text file. You have to keep in mind that
there are people who don't know anything about C. You need to do a simple text
file to make installation easier for everyone.
The easiest way is to give the entire functions. This is best for modders
without experience, but for people that already have a mod in that function,
it's not good.
I have another problem, I'm a French Canadian and I need to write in
English because the majority speaks English on these networks. I've learned a
lot because of WWIVnet. My English writing skills have improved at least 500%
since I started a WWIVnet system. Still, there are many times when people
don't get what I'm saying.
The text file shows the quality of your modification in a way. A good mod
will always have a well done text file. They go together.
Step 5: Posting The Modification
The big day! You finally decide to post your modification.
Normally there isn't a modification released that doesn't have problems.
Now you will start to feel the worst side of doing modification. People are
emailing you to tell you that this isn't okay, and that isn't all right. You
get 10 e-mails because you forgot a space somewhere. People are trying to help
you, of course.
You'll get mail from people thanking you. People shout at you because you
can't do a mod without a problem. Not everybody is satisfied with it. There
you have 2 choices: get depressed and forget about it and keep it for
yourself, or go to next level...
Step 6: The Revisions
Popular mods will stay around forever!
The revisions are at the beginning bug fixes. If the mod author gets good
mail from people using his mod, he will really feel better and it might put a
smile on his face.
After the first post of my WFC modification, I received plenty of email
telling me how good that mod was, and I still receive mail 6 months later!
This will encourage the author to continue with the modification because he's
written something special.
Then I start to do fancy stuff and listening to comments. After seeing
that people liked it a lot. I decided to ask my cosysop for some help and we
formed a team for that modification. I got external help of course, but if you
look at SPOT016.MOD and SPOT016D.MOD, you will see what team work can do for a
modification. Addition of arrow keys and scrolling bar, real time, etc. are
some of the things we've added recently.
This is enhancement stage that gives a modification a status above the
others. If I wouldn't have received all that mail, do you really think that
modification would still be in progress and I would now be talking to Wayne
Bell for inclusion in the next version of WWIV? Of course not! Basically, this
is the best modification I've ever done for WWIV. Without the support of
people from the first release, this mod would have been finished with the B
revision.
Step 7: Evolve
No, it's not finished!
You will need to upgrade your modification if you want it to stay
popular. Upgrade it for each version of WWIV and promote it. When people have
ideas, you have to listen to them and see what you can do to further optimize
your coding. Maybe the day will come when someone else will do something
pretty similar, or better, than your work. That day will be the question. Do I
continue and try to do better, or do I support him and help him (like I did
after seeing ListPlus!)
That's it I think. When you have more than 100 people using your
modification, I guess you can call it pretty popular.
The best way to get quality modifications is to appreciate the author's
work and tell him that you use his modification.
To start writing your own, you need determination, it took me about 4
years to reach that level with one modification.
The majority of our modifications are old projects. We started WFC
screens on v4.11, and the Full Screen Callout was done on v4.12. A quality
modification might be a simple one that evolves over the years because you've
increased your experience and knowledge. I learned how to set the screen to
80x50 only 5 days before releasing my WFC screen!
Imagination will always serve you. In 4 years, the WFC modification has
evolved to the simple ANSI screen printed on screen to what it is now.
You need determination because to achieve a goal after 4 years is long
time, even if you thought that it was nothing special at the beginning. A good
idea will always stay, all you need is to try to do better than everyone.
And for patience, imagine the amount of time that has been spent since
the beginning for such a "simple" modification! Of course, it didn't take 4
years to do the WFC a mod. It actually took 6 months to reach the current
version from the first one, with experience playing a large part.
So, do you have the 5 qualities that it requires? I sure hope so!
Don't give up! Start doing your own modifications! You will learn many
things and get much satisfaction from what you do!
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ S O F T W A R E / P R O G R A M M I N G ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ BBSing Enters A New Dimension: ³
³ The RIPscrip Graphics Protocol ³ Zack Ives (WWIVnet 3@7729)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
It's something that you have probably been hearing a lot about, and
perhaps something have even seen for yourself. Telegrafix's Remote Imaging
Protocol, RIPscrip, has quickly become the standard in implementing graphical
BBSes. Nearly every sizable collection of shareware will include at least a
few RIP-compatible doors or utilities and almost all of the major BBS programs
support RIP. WWIV 4.23 is one of the few which does not have built-in RIP
support but you can get mods from at least two sources, myself and Midi Man.
WWIV Software Services is evaluating each of these for inclusion in Version
4.24 and most likely WWIV 4.24 _will_ include RIP support.
The RIPscrip protocol itself is quite simple but elegant. Like ANSI
graphics, RIP codes are formed from regular ASCII characters and escape
sequences and the terminal program is responsible for interpreting them. As of
this time, there are only three RIP-compatible terminal programs I am aware
of: Telegrafix's freeware program RIPterm, Mustang Software's QModem Pro and
QModem Pro for Windows. Each of these requires an EGA or better graphics
adapter and a bit of hard disk space, but, in most cases, a 2400 bps modem is
acceptable. The RIP graphics standard is object-based, not bitmap-based, so it
is quite compact. That is why RIP is not a protocol which puts huge strains on
system resources despite the fact that it is graphical in nature.
On the sysop's end, requirements are even simpler. The primary
requirement is that the BBS have support for RIP graphics. If you are using
WWIV, this means you need to purchase a good RIP mod or you must write your
own support.
Because the graphics-mode overhead would be quite large (about 100K in
most situations), most bulletin board programs will not display the RIP
graphics locally. Unfortunately, this means the sysop will not be able to see
what is on the user's screen but it also means he or she can support RIP on
any machine that can run a BBS, even one with only a monochrome adapter.
Entire RIP screens are stored as alphanumeric codes so regular messages
and e-mails can include embedded RIP images very easily. Interestingly, the
buttons the user sees on the screen are much like macros. When the user clicks
on a command, it sends a text string back to the BBS, executing the assigned
command. Essentially, the BBS needs to "know" very little about RIP graphics
to support them.
On the other hand, a well-done implementation will have quite extensive
RIP-specific code. When the user logs on, the BBS program can automatically
detect whether RIPterm is running or not, and switch into RIP mode.
One of the best features of RIPterm is its ability to display RIP screens
saved on the user's machine. That is why most BBSes will allow their users to
download all of the RIP menu screens. Instead of transmitting an entire
screen, the BBS can simply transmit a short playback code, and the menu will
be loaded off the user's hard disk at a much faster rate. This is a necessity
for anyone running RIP at a speed lower than 14.4Kbps.
RIPscrip has one other feature of importance: a database. This database
is not what the name implies; it is simply a file for storing user-specific
information. The BBS can create variables with particular names and it can
assign information to them and store this information on the user's machine.
It can later request that information. This is an excellent place to store
user-specific items such as configuration information, the user's name, and
flags.
As you can see, RIP is more than just a simple protocol for pictures. It
gives the BBS a number of extra capabilities that no text-based protocol
supports. However, the graphics are the real selling point, mainly because
they can be used to implement a graphical interface for your BBS. There are
two types of graphics files: icons, which are bitmaps, and are usually
downloaded by the user for playback off the hard disk; and RIP screens, which
are object-based. The RIP screen is more than a vector-based drawing, however,
because it also contains instructions on where to display the icons and
buttons.
At the lowest level, the RIP screen consists of graphics commands,
mouse-field commands, and window and text information. RIP has a full range of
graphics commands, including ellipses and polygons, as well as custom fill
styles, icon placement, and a flood-fill. These are used to draw the image on
the screen. Mouse fields define rectangular regions where the user can click
the mouse to activate a designated series of (text) commands. Finally, the
window commands define the limits for the RIP graphics and ANSI text areas.
You can create a RIP screen as a frame, and define a small window for text;
everything that the BBS displays will appear within the text window until you
remove the RIP screen with the special RIP_CLS code. To the BBS, the upper
left corner of the text window becomes the top of the screen, and all ANSI and
text sequences go into that window.
RIP also has higher-level, composite instructions. One of the most useful
is the RIP_BUTTON code. This code will draw a three-dimensional rectangular
button and assign a text macro to it, all in one operation. There are other
commands to detect whether a RIP file exists on the user's machine, to
transmit menus to the user for downloading, and to display a RIP screen stored
on the user's machine. All of these are discussed in detail in Telegrafix's
RIPscrip specifications document.
However, this basic discussion of how RIP works is enough to give you the
knowledge you need to create your own RIP BBS menus with a RIP drawing
program. The two best I have used are Flatliner and DeadPaint. I have also
used Tombstone Artist, but I found that the version I had to be inadequate.
For icons, MAKEICN (for drawing) and MegaClip (for conversion from other
graphics formats) are very useful. If you intend to create menus, you will
probably want to include a text window for your BBS command prompt and/or any
other information. You will probably also find it more efficient to use the
button commands instead of drawing boxes and then adding mouse fields.
Right now, RIPscrip is still slightly hampered by a few shortcomings. It
only supports EGA-level (640x350, 16-color) graphics, it does not recognize
any standard graphics formats, its font support could be better, and it does
not allow multiple windows. However, with the upcoming release of RIPscrip
2.0, Telegrafix will be addressing all of these limitations.
Version 2.0, which was actually scheduled for a first-quarter 1994
release, and is thus already overdue, will be a huge step forward. It will
include support for 24-bit (16.7 million color) graphics at any resolution;
and will include much-improved font and windowing commands. It will also be
able to use GIF, TIFF, and JPEG graphics images. There will not be any loss of
backward compatibility, either.
RIPscrip Version 2 is definitely something to look forward to, but
Version 1 already adds a new dimension WWIV and other BBS programs. It can
give BBS callers the type of graphical interface that they are familiar with,
even the familiar Microsoft(R) Windows(TM) interface, complete with pull-down
menus and dialog boxes. RIP can bring a new level of friendliness to the
previously command-line- only BBS program.
Note: If you are interested in my RIPspeed mod, or would like to get a
copy of Telegrafix's RIPscrip specifications, please e-mail me for more
information.
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³ Learning C - Part Six ³ Daarkhan (1@7676)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Chapter Six: MORE PROGRAM CONTROL STATEMENTS: FOR LOOPS
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This is the SIXTH chapter in a tutorial series by Richard Rost designed
for people who know very little about programming and want to learn C. If you
have not read the previous chapters, I urge you to call Paragon BBS
(716/837-1636) and download them!
FORWARD TO CHAPTER SIX
Well, once again, it's been quite some time since I said I'd have this
chapter out. I do my best, however. Summer's here now, and I'm on vacation, so
I'll try and get these chapters out as quickly as possible. Again, thanks to
those of you who keep the Learning C message base alive.
PROGRAM CONTROL STATEMENTS
We learned about the IF statement in the last chapter. Now, let's move on
to the FOR statement.
Suppose you want to get your program to count from 1 to 10. How do you do
it? Well, I'll show you and then I'll explain it to you.
void main (void)
{
int x;
for (x=1; x<=10; x++) {
printf ("%i\n", x);
}
}
That's it. Let's examine the FOR statement. The FOR statement has three
parts: initialization, conditional test, and increment.
The first part, the initialization, sets the counter variable (in our
example, 'x') to some starting value. This is only done once, at the beginning
of the iterations. (Iteration: process of repeating an action. Each time the
loop repeats, it is called another iteration).
The second part, the conditional test, is a test for equality which
forces the FOR loop to continue while the condition evaluates to TRUE. When
the conditional test evaluates to FALSE, the loop stops.
The last part, the increment, occurs at the end of each loop iteration.
The counter variable, in our example, 'x', is incremented by the value found
here.
So, taking another look at our example, we initialize a variable 'x' to
start at 1. The condition "x <= 10" is evaluated to TRUE, and the loop takes
place. After printing the number 10 on the screen, the increment takes place
(x++ now sets the value of 'x' equal to 2) and the loop continues. Finally,
after 'x' is incremented to 11, the condition no longer evaluates to TRUE, and
the loop exits.
What happens with this for loop?
for (x=10; x>10; x++) printf ("%i\n",x);
Nothing happens. 'x' is initialized to 10. The conditional value is
checked, and evaluated to FALSE (10 is not greater than 10) and the printf()
statement is never executed. The loop exits immediately.
We do not always have to count forward. We can count backward as well.
This loop counts from 10 to 1 backwards.
for (x=10; x>=1; x++) printf ("%i\n",x);
And we can use the increment to count by steps other than ones. This loop
counts from 1 to 100 by 10s.
for (x=1; x<=100; x+=10) printf ("%i\n",x);
Executing that last loop gives you:
1
11
21
...
91
Seems kinda odd, doesn't it? Take a close look at the for loop to see
why. If you want to count by multiples of 10, you have to restate your
request:
for (x=10; x<=100; x+=10) ...
That will give you counting BY tens; a more familiar looking practice.
NEXT
Logical operators: AND, OR, and NOT.
SOURCES
Downing, Douglas. Dictionary of Computer Terms. New York: Barrons,
1989.
Holzner, Steven. C Programming: The Accessible Guide to Professional
Programming. New York: Brady, 1991.
Schildt, Herbert. Teach Yourself C. Berkeley: Osborne McGraw-Hill,
1990.
---. Turbo C/C++: The Complete Reference. Berkeley: Osborne
McGraw-Hill, 1990.
COPIES
For a hard copy of this, or any single chapter of the tutorial, send
$1.00 US along with your mailing address and which chapter you want to:
Learning C
c/o Richard Rost
1280 Walden Ave.
Buffalo NY 14211-2820
Copies also available on diskette: $5.00 for 5.25"; $6.00 for 3.5". We
will fit as many chapters as possible on your disk. Your disk will also be
loaded with some of Master Software's shareware programming utilities and
sample source code!
You can always download the ENTIRE tutorial series free of charge from
PARAGON BBS by calling 716/837-1636 with your modem.
MAILING LIST
If you would like to get on the "Learning C" mailing list, you will
receive, by U.S. Mail, hardcopies of the next chapters of "Learning C" as soon
as they are available. Send $1.00 US for each future chapter of "Learning C"
(as many as you want to receive) to the address above to get on the mailing
list. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
C DISCUSSION NIGHT
I am hosting C Discussion Nights on The Blue Moon BBS every Tuesday night
at 8:00pm. Blue Moon BBS is a multi-line (11 at current count) system with a
multi-user conference area. All are welcome. You can catch me there every
Tuesday at 8:00pm (provided I can get through!) until the discussion dies
(usually a few hours). The numbers for Blue Moon are:
High-speed lines (14.4): 716/876-2547
716/876-5705
716/876-1913
716/873-5038
2400 baud lines (rollover): 716/874-8941
2400 baud callers, please try calling the 2400 line first. Thank you.
NETWORK ADDRESSES
I, Richard Rost (Daarkhan), am a remote sysop on Paragon BBS
(716/837-1636). My user number is 2, and you can send Email to me through the
following networks:
WWIVnet 2 @7663
WWIVlink 2 @17652
IceNET 2 @7654
NOTICE
This and every "Learning C" tutorial chapter are Copyright 1993 by Master
Software and Richard Rost, all rights reserved. You may, and are encouraged
to, freely distribute this and any tutorial chapter provided it is not
modified in any way, and no remuneration is accepted in any form save by
Master Software or Richard Rost.
ÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄ
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ L I T E B Y T E S ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Silly Strings - From IceNET Sysops Everywhere ³ Ima Moron (1@9661)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
This month I've choosen to include donated taglines and miniesm
editings. The miniesm editings follow the taglines.
Taglines;
In the immortal words of Socrates, "I drank WHAT?!?!"
by Alkar Zephyr #1 @4506 IceNET
Be vewy, vewy quiet . . . . I'm hunting tagwines!
by Will #1 @6754 IceNET
Canadian DOS: "Yer Sure, eh? [y/n]"
Grey Wanderer #1 @3358 IceNET
Everyone has to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer.
Grey Wanderer #1 @3358 IceNET
Miniesm editings;
String 91: Saving...
Converted to - Grind. Grind. Grind! Make that flour!
by The Director #1 @3659
String 362: "Last few callers"
Converted to - "Last few deleted users"
by Gato #1 @9995 IceNET
String 682: Message CAN now be auto-purged
Converted to - Handle activated, message WILL be flushed!
by Ima Moron 1@9661 IceNET
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ The Hows and Whys of Handles ³ Louie (6@1)
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Why do BBSers use handles? Why not? CB Radio enthusiasts use handles.
BBSers probably stole the concept from the CB Radio community. Handles allow
folks to be a little different from how we are in normal, everyday, life.
Some people, even members of the BBS community (like the FidoNet folks),
think that the people that use handles are trying to hide our identities
because we are hacker, cracker, phreaker, pirate scum out to overthrow the
United States government and destroy Western civilization as we know it. The
idea being that because we don't introduce ourselves as "Hi, I'm Joe Bob
Jones" right away that we automatically have something to hide.
My response to that charge is to ask "When was the last time you were at
the Mall or Supermarket and everybody you met said `Hi, I'm Joe Bob Jones?'"
If that ever happened to you, get worried because it isn't normal. And, trust
me on this, they all were probably lying. Not everybody is named "Joe Bob
Jones."
But seriously, if you have a real need to know my real name I will be
more than willing to tell it to you. I give my real name and address to
sysops. I go to BBS picnics. It isn't like I am hiding in the basement and
BBSing only late at night while running from the FBI.
[Note from the Managing Editor - it is common speculation that Louie *is*
in fact being hunted by the FBI, or at least the CIA. It stands to reason that
he's done something.]
People use handles for the simple fact that it is fun. It isn't breaking
peoples legs or anything so I don't think there is really anything wrong with
the practice.
HOW TO CHOOSE A HANDLE
When choosing a handle, a new BBSers should remember a few things. First,
you will pretty much be stuck with it for your whole BBSing life. Even if you
change your handle later people who remember you from way back when will
persist in calling you by your original handle (just ask The Fez, er, I mean
Deacon Blues). Second, you should choose something original and imaginative.
Third, it should say something a little about yourself and your personality.
You should remember a few things about what not to do when choosing a
handle. For one, you shouldn't choose your real name. Choosing your real name
kind of defeats the whole idea of having a handle. It also shows a definite
lack of imagination.
[M/E note #2 - <cough>]
Two, you shouldn't pick a handle that is already in use by someone else.
You should even avoid handles that would seem to be the same. Third, sysops
should never use the handle "Sysop." Basically you are not the only sysop in
IceNET and therefore shouldn't confuse other folks around the network. Fourth,
don't use profanity. Fifth, don't use the real names of other people.
That second point on things to not do when choosing a handle deserves a
little attention by itself. You see, when you choose a handle already in use
it not only confuses folks who get both of you mixed up, but it also shows a
lack of imagination. For example, how many people use the handles "Wizard,"
"The Wizard," "Wiz," "The Wiz, "Mage," "The Mage," "Dark Mage," "Dark Wizard,"
"High Wizard," "Merlin," "Gandalf," "Merlin the Magician," "Black Wizard,"
etc. throughout IceNET and WWIVland? In the 716 area alone we have more than
our fair share. Other words that have this problem are "Lord," "Knight,"
"Master," "Death," "Killer," You have seen all the weird handles that are
overused. Don't use them again! If you do, I will have to come after you. :-)
HOW I GOT MY HANDLE
So, now you have a right to ask, how did Louie get his handle. Well, I
ain't telling and you can't make me! Hey, put that gun down! Bang! Ok, Ok,
I'll talk.
[M/E note #3 - I didn't have to fight to find out. And I did know before
he wrote this.]
Well, it was a dark and stormy night. A bunch of computer scientist
wannabes were programming their projects peacefully in the college computer
lab. Sure, it was late at night, but some us got paid to sit around the lab
and make sure nobody walked off with the computers so we had keys to the lab.
Well, we were all sitting around going insane because our projects were
not in working condition. Now, what is the main thing College Students are
noted for? Drinking and eating pizza. So, naturally, we had to order a pizza.
Or several pizzas maybe, since it has been a while.
Well, the pizza delivery guy was a bit... how shall we say... stupid. He
was also named Louie. We used to make fun of Louie when he wasn't around. The
worst insult you could hurl in the computer lab was to call somebody a Louie.
So, naturally, when I started in BBSing I decided to take my handle from
a dumb pizza delivery man. Hey, I'm a BBSer and that is all the excuse I need.
EVALUATIONS OF THE HANDLES OF THE REST OF THE IceNEWS STAFF
Well, obviously I disapprove of people who have no imagination or
creativity in choosing handles. Therefore, I think Jim, Will and Chris have
failed in the obligation in choosing a good handle.
[M/E note #4 - I've had plenty of wild handles in my life. I'm just not
saying what they are.]
I do approve of the handles of Deacon Blues, Papa Bear, Ima Moron and
Daarkhan, though. They are imaginative and original handles.
I don't think people should try to change handles myself, although Deacon
Blues used to be known as The Fez. And like I said before, some people
continue to call Deacon by his old handle and I will continue to do that to my
dying day. :-)
HANDLE VANDALS
In the past on some boards in the 716 area, Handle Vandalism Wars have
been widespread. It used to occur on boards in the area where just about
everybody was a Cosysop and had access to Uedit. We would change each other
handles often. It got so bad at times where a person would launch pre-emptive
strikes on themselves in order to make somebody else think another person was
the culprit that time. Needless to say, we all learned to remember our user
numbers then.
Handle Vandalism Wars can be great fun. However, those who engage in such
activity should remember to only war with those who can defend themselves and
strike back. In other words, don't attack non-cosysop people. We all once made
the mistake of letting loose our handle vandalizing on the general user
population at large. Let's just say that it wasn't a pretty sight when the
sysop was hauling us all into line for our action. Executions were not
uncommon. :-)
In conclusion... I would just like to say again. We people who use
handles are not evil hacker, cracker, phreaker, pirate scum who want to
overthrow the United States government and destroy Western civilization as we
know it. We just want to destroy Western civilization. :-)
[Final M/E note - this is why I do not drive up to New York for the staff
meetings.]
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ IceNEWS is an independent newsletter published monthly as a service to ³
³ IceNET, its sysops and users. The opinions & reviews expressed herein ³
³ are the expressed views of the respective writers. All Rights Reserved.³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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