Volume 3, Number 10 10 March 1986 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - Fidonews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Fidonews is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FNEWSART.DOC, available from node 1/1. Disclaimer or don't-blame-us: The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL Is Anybody Out There? 2. ARTICLES ANSI on FIDO, Part I of III The Association To Save Madonna From Nuclear War Need Help on Expanding My System New firmware upgrade for the USR Courier 2400 Proposal: FidoNet News-Groups ProComm 2.2 Released! Adds Telink and more... Server and Daylight: Two Fido Utilities 3. COLUMNS The View from the Top; Help Nodes 4. FOR SALE Entertainment Software for your PC! MACRO - A powerful front-end for any language Public Domain Software Library Sale!! 5. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack Fidonet PCNews and Fidonet Languages USERFILE - USER.BBS flexible file lister /Allen Miller ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Is Anybody Out There? This is a strange sort of publication to run. We don't have subscribers as such, and we don't sell newsstand copies, so it's hard to tell just how many readers we have. I send FidoNews out to a dozen or so nodes, who in turn (I think) pass it on to other nodes, so that hopefully it reaches every node soon after it's published. In theory no sysop should have to download FidoNews from another board, and people DO download it, so maybe we have some readers out there somewhere. On the other hand, maybe there are just some sysops who aren't getting it regularly every week, for whatever reason. I know we do have some readers who aren't sysops. I've heard of a couple of sysops who run the newsletter out on a printer each week and mail copies out to people who are not on the net. I've also spoken to people now and then who are not sysops, but who have at least heard of FidoNews. I'm curious. I'd like to know. Will you help? Please drop a note to 1/1 or 107/8 and let me know how many people download FidoNews from your board. Do you print copies and mail them anywhere? Do you know of anywhere outside of FidoNet where it is circulated? Please drop me a line even if the answer is "no". After all, zero is a number too. Thanks for your help. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 2 10 Mar 1986 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= ANSI ART by Jim Lynn Net Coord, 129/0 SYSOP, 129/384 When I first set up Pitt-bull, one year ago this week, I was determined to have a board where everyone could meet. I had been living in Pittsburgh for less than six months at that time and couldn't find any BBS's to feed my commo-addiction. I read an article in PC Mag or somewhere, about TJ and his FIDO-NET. I don't really remember how many nodes there were at that time, but I was disappointed when I had some problems which prevented me from getting node number 300. As you see I had SEVERAL problems and didn't get a node number until 384 came to the top of the list! Oh well... Pitt-Bull was ran at first from a Compaq portable! That was back in the days when you could set up a FIDO on a dual floppy drive system and still have room for a couple of file areas... I was so determined that it would be a generic board and I went and ignored the first and simplest fact that from the start made my board undesirable to the C-64 users... I made all of my welcome and message files 80 column! That was the first step on the road to ruin. Next I started putting borders in my FILES.BBS files, using the high ASCII IBM characters. Still no end in sight! Finally I gave in completely and I now have a very nice welcome file (in my opinion!) and still have my share of C-64 and MAC users. With a little restraint, you can make your graphics unobtrusive and still have some pizazz in your openings. Here are three things that you can do to at least make it a little easier for your non-IBM callers to use your board and still let you make it pretty for your IBM-Compatibles. First, if you remember to always have a line such as "Use ^K to skip this display" at the beginning of the screen, your users always have a graceful way out without having to wade through what looks like garbage to them. The second thing you can do is set up the text file so that the first 23 lines are normal and the 24th line states: "Press N if your system can not handle IBM Graphics..." The next line will be the MORE? prompt, and if the user answer 'N', then they will be spared the "garbage characters". The third and possibly most important thing is to be honest with your callers. If you have directed your board toward IBMers, say so up front. If you welcome everyone but still have some graphics, keep them where they don't cause an eyesore for your non IBMers. Fidonews Page 3 10 Mar 1986 In this first session, I'll give you a summary of the escape sequences and what they can do. Here is the basic set of sequences: ^ is used to represent the escape character (ASCII value 27 decimal) # is used to represent a numerical value NOTE: UPPER/lower case is critical. If you send a 'S' when you should have sent a 's', it won't work. A semicolon (;) is used to separate variables First the 'simplest' codes: ^[H Cursor Home (CH). Sends the cursor to the upper left hand corner of the display. ^[#;#H CUrsor Position (CUP). the first number represents the row and the second is the column. ie. ^[3,15H will send the cursor to row 3, column 15. Any normal row and column is valid provided it is valid for the screen mode. (Do not send the cursor to column 62 when in 40 column mode.) ^[#A CUrsor Up (CUU). Move the cursor up # lines. If you don't put any number in the code (ie. ^[A) then the cursor will move up one line. ^[#B CUrsor Down (CUD). Same as for CUU. ^[#C CUrsor Forward (CUF). DITTO. ^[#D CUrsor Backward (CUB). GUESS.... ^[s This is called a Save Cursor Position (SCP) and can be used to remember where the cursor was before you start sending 'garbage'. ^[u Restore Cursor Position (RCP). Yup, puts it back to where it was when you sent the SCP. ^[2J Erase Display (ED). Clears the screen, pure and simple. ^[K Erase Line - (EL). Erases the current line from (and including) the cursor position to the end of the line. ^[#;...;#m This code sets the colors on the screen. (Yes, the user's colors as well as yours!) You can use as many of the following numbers, but if you use more than one foreground or background number, only the last one will be used. The numbers are: 0 = Default. All colors off. Sets the colors to whatever the user's terminal considers normal. Fidonews Page 4 10 Mar 1986 1 = Set Hi-intensity on. Gives the text a boldface look. 4 = Underscore or underline. Works only if the users monitor is a monochrome monitor. 5 = Blinking text. 7 = Inverse video. (black text on white background) 8 = Invisible (Black text on black background) The following set colors for: Foreground Color Background 30 Black 40 31 Red 41 32 Green 42 33 Yellow 43 34 Blue 44 35 Magenta 45 36 Cyan 46 37 White 47 Last but not least. A lot of editors balk at letting you place an ESC character in a file... the following program will convert a character of your choice into the ESC char. 100 ' This program will read a text file and convert any 110 ' occurrence of a character of your choosing into an ESC. 160 ' Change ^ in line 200 to the character that you use. 200 ESC$=CHR$(27):SEARCH$="^" ' The character 220 CLS:INPUT"FILE TO READ -";F1$:INPUT"FILE TO WRITE-";F2$ 240 OPEN F1$ FOR INPUT AS #1:OPEN F2$ FOR OUTPUT AS #2 250 WHILE NOT EOF(1):LINE INPUT#1,RAW$:T=1:WHILE T<>0 270 T=INSTR(RAW$,SEARCH$):IF T<>0 THEN MID$(RAW$,T,1)=ESC$ 280 WEND:PRINT#2,RAW$:WEND The only thing that you need to know now is to make sure that your callers have ANSI.SYS or FCONSOLE.DEV loaded during their CONFIG.SYS load or they will see garbage no matter what you do. Next time, I will give you a few examples of how to "fake" a window on the user's screen. In the article after that, I will show you how to animate an ANSI file. Till then..... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 5 10 Mar 1986 Tim Sullivan SYSOP PC Techniques 108/62 The following is the text from a handout that was given to me by a friend. He told me it was given to him by a colorful character at a local bar. I have copied the text verbatim including all spelling and gramatical errors. P R E S S R E L E A S E February 8, 1986 (SINCE THERE IS ONLY ONE MONTH TO SAVE DE GARMO FROM STATE SPONSORED EXECUTION, I WROTE THIS IN A HURRY. PLEASE FORGIVE TYPOS AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL ME) MY FELLOW AMERICANS. SAVE ROGER LEROY FROM STATE SPONSORED EXECUTION TASK GROUP ---------------------------------------------------------- I have on this day, February 8, 1986, the responsibility of communicating to my fellow countrypersons a message of the GRAVEST AND UTMOST IMPORTANCE. It is a difficult story to relate. Please bear with me. First of all, I am a scientist, a mathematician and a linguist. For over ten years I have been working on a mathematical proof which shows that a VIROLOGICAL SOLUTION to the threats posed to us and our planet by nuclear weapons and associated ecological threats. The reason that I took the mathematical approach was because Conway, the british mathematician was able to show that it is mathematically possible to create self-reflecting computers capable of infinite figures. What this maens is that we have now in our grasp the conceptual apparatus to create living, highly intelligent machines, which reproduce like living things. At this time I realized that if Conway could prove that living, highly intelligient machines are possible, that it might ALSO be possible to create machines without intellegience which could still reproduce. By this I meant to investigate the possibility that nuclear weapons stand in a relation to the human race that is similar to that of a virus towards a cell. The virus has no replicative machinery of its own. It enters the cell. It uses the replicative machinery of the cell to reproduce virus. The cell is not aware that it is not reproducing itself. Soon it is filled with virus and the cell bursts. In the case of nuclear weapons, we have what is in essence a VIRUS MACHINE, which has entered into the human "cell" and has raided the essential replicative material we use to pass on human traits. i.e. human language. So, since 1945, we have been reproducing virus, not ourselves. That is to say that we THINK we are creating ourselves. Actually, we are creating nuclear weapons. Fidonews Page 6 10 Mar 1986 On February 1, 1986, I finished my mathematical proof which essentially shows that nuclear weapons are ALIVE. So it is not the Russians who are our enemy. It is the nuclear weapons which, as living things, compete for the ecological space WE now inhabit. I must TELL YOU THE VERY GOOD NEWS THAT when my theorem is released, it will cause nuclear weapons to disappear within 30 to sixty days. At that point the planet will begin to clean up its ecological problems and become significantly more fun. However, there is one catch. It is this. My theory has also allowed me to chart linguistic degeneration rate which began in 1945 with the creation of nuclear weapons. The attack of nuclear weapons on human language was viscious and unrelenting. Soon, we were NOT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT EVEN THE MOST OBVIOUS THINGS. The result is this: My linguistic degeneration program shows that nuclear war will become 100% PROBABLE on 632 days from this day. ON that day, human error will begin to increase exponentially. On that day, missle commanders will not be able to CLEARLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR SUPERIORS ARE SYAING. THEY WILL MAKE MISTAKES WHICH ARE TERRIBLE TO THINK ABOUT. AND SO, the gist of the story is that, unless we disassemble nuclear weapons, Nuclear War will become COMPLETELY INEVITABLE IN 632 days. Luckily, however, my mathematical theorem will destroy nuclear weapons before 632 days have elapsed. So you are safe from nuclear war and will come to live in a FAR FAR better world. You must help me for the SAVE ROGER LEROY FROM STATE SPONSORED EXECUTION TASK GROUP. That is because, on March 12, 1986, convicted murderer Roger Leroy DeGarmo will be executed by the state of Texas. In order for my theory to work, we must save DEGARMO. I AM REALLY NOT KIDDING. Call the number at the bottom of this press release. We have exactly on month to STAY Roger Leroy's execution, and one more month to save the world from COMPLETE INEVITABLE NUCLEAR WAR. VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME AND EFFORTS FOR ONE MONTH IN THE EFFORT TO SAVE ROGER LEROY AND SAVE YOUR OWN ASS FROM NUCLEAR WAR AT THE SAME TIME! NUMBER TO CALL: GOVERNER OF TAXAS, GOVERNOR MARK WHITE, 1-512-463-2000 Lodge your protest! A. S. M. N. W. The Association To Save Madonna From Nuclear War 228 McCormick #3 Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 (513) 241-5457 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 7 10 Mar 1986 David K. Bodman Fido 151/3 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Help needed on expanding a Columbia Portable + ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Having just recently joined the ranks of FidoNet, I am really impressed with it's idea, organization, and growth. I was first told about it through a friend at San Jose, CA, who urged me to find a nearby network and get active on it. After about a month of searching, I found that some friends in this area had brought up a net here in my own home town, and offered me the program and a node assignment. I was very happy to join, and am helping to expand the net in this area. Long Live FIDO, and many thanks to Tom Jennings, Ken Kaplan, and all those other great guys who put together this GEM of a system! I am writing in for a bit of technical help in planning an expansion for my computer system. I am finding that the range of options available may require some unusual modification to the system, and I'd rather get some advice from some people more knowledgeable than me in this area before I attempt it and run the risk of making situations worse rather then better! I currently am running a Columbia VP 1600 "portable" computer, Revision J, manufactured in February of 1984. It has two floppy drives and 128 K on the system board. It has one card slot, and upon inspection of the system board I have found a pad for an additional card slot. The one card slot now is taken up by an Apparat "Crambo" card, which is actually two cards that are connected together, the first one is a memory card, expandable to 512, and the second has Serial & parallel ports, and a clock calendar. As the system stands now, it's quite nice. I like the portability, and hope to keep this pretty much as is. However, I am finding that I really need to add a fixed disk to the system. Program development (especially with libraries, header files, etc.) is getting quite difficult without one. In addition, each version of FIDO seems to grow a bit larger with each revision, and more and more utilities are difficult to run if they are not on the same disk as the BBS system. The extra pad I found on my system board gave me the following idea, which if possible would give me almost everything I want. My idea is that I could attach a cable to this pad (it's location precludes the use of it to hold another card, it is placed right in line with the floppy drives, and therefore no card could be placed in the additional slot.), run the cable outside the VP to an expansion box which would hold the Hard disk and optionally additional cards. Putting a cable connecter on this cable would allow me to still have the portability of the VP, leaving the hard-disk at home. I figure that as a portable, I only need the floppies, but do need the memory! The problem I have run into is that most of the expansion boxes I have seen have a receiver-transmitter card combination. The transmitter card goes in the computer, and the receiver is Fidonews Page 8 10 Mar 1986 placed in the expansion box. However, since I don't have the additional slot in the computer, what's a body to do? I would like to solicit suggestions on how to solve this problem, or warnings about some of the options listed here. Please send any suggestions to me at Net 151, Node 3. I would greatly appreciate any advice on this matter, because at the moment I am having great problems trying to figure how to solve this. Thank you in advance! ! ! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 9 10 Mar 1986 New Firmware Upgrade For USR Courier 2400 Kurt Reisler - SYSOP The Bear's Den (109/74) Wash-A-RUG (109/483) Once again, US Robotics has an upgrade to the PROM-based firmware of our USR Courier 2400 modems. The latest PROM release has a product code of 243. To determine the product code of the PROM in your modem, start up your favorite communications program, and type the command "ATI0" and hit the return key. If your modem returns 243 as the 3 digit product code, then you have the latest release of the firmware. If anything lower is returned, you should call US Robotics immediately and request a firmware up- grade. They are doing this on an exchange basis, as they did with the upgrade from 241 to 242. To get your PROM upgraded, call US Robotics at 800-DIALUSR, and ask for Technical Support. Tell them that you need the PROM upgrade and they will take care of it for you. Replacing the PROM is a simple procedure. Pop the old one out, and gently insert the new one. That should be all there is to it. From what I understand, the new firmware corrects the "streaming" problem that some of us were having when we called other USR Courier 2400 baud modems. The streaming problem was character- ized by the modems connecting, and one or the other generating a continual stream of garbage. The only way to break the connec- tion was either to drop DTR, or to physically turn off the modem. Not a major problem during a manual call, but mine would up attached to a long-distance FIDO for 2.5 hours during FidoNet time (OUCH, my aching phone bill!). The new PROMs also correct a connection problem with Ventel 2400 baud modems. By the way, the initial source for this information was net.micro.pc on USENET. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 10 10 Mar 1986 Brad Hicks Sysop, WeirdBase Fido 100/523 Yet another modest proposal... +---------------------------------------+ : F I D O N E T N E W S - G R O U P S : +---------------------------------------+ Anyone who's ever cruised a major main-frame system like Compu- Serve, or who subscribes to any of the news groups on UseNet/ARPAnet, knows how frustrating it can be trying to make initial contact with people through FidoMail. (Gee, I wonder how I can find people who are interested in discussing left-handed basket-weaving? Well, maybe somebody on BasketBoard on the other side of the continent - maybe I'd better send them some mail before I waste a long time trying to call them long-distance.) And the worst part of it is, there's no open forum for discussing ideas between multiple users on multiple boards. That's why UseNet has news groups - they take all of the messages related to a topic, and package 'em up, and daisy-chain them around the net so that everybody gets 'em. Not long ago, the sysops of the UN*X Gateway told us that if we begged them they might just be convinced to convert news groups into FidoMessages and ARC them for pickup. Definitely a step in the right direction - in fact, there's no good reason why I can't ARC my whole Neopaganism message area and ship it to anyone else, who could unARC it and put it up as one of his own. It doesn't take very long to spot what's missing: how do you reply to one of these messages? (Oops.) PARTIAL SOLUTION (LET'S DO IT SOON) What I propose is a utility-set that would follow these steps: EXPORT - for each "News group Area": E1) Scan a message base looking for anything that's LOCAL (for those of you who haven't hacked around inside a message header, that means originating from here) and hasn't been SENT. Copy it to a new file with a different extension, mark it as non-LOCAL, and the original as SENT. E2) ARC all of those new messages, then kill. E3) Kill all of the temporary files. E4) Ship them to all participating boards via ROBOT. IMPORT - For each incoming message ARChive: Fidonews Page 11 10 Mar 1986 I1) UnARC it, then I2) Renumber to follow all of the existing messages. All it'd take is one program to do step E1, and one program to do step I2. Also, it'd be nice if T.J. would let us have another attribute bit on sys.attrib, as follows: #define SYSMAIL 1 /* existing: FidoMail */ #define NEWSGROUP 2 /* forwarding news group */ and change the software so that if sys.attrib and 2, prompt for net/node number (but not for kill/sent or file attach). Then we could program something that would start in the Fido directory and package all of the NEWSGROUP areas into files something like mmmmnnnn.aaa (m = net, n = node, a = message area). Step I2 would need a control file, call it NEWSGRP.BBS if you like, that read something like this: 100/523,4,6 (put 100/523's area 4 into my area 6) 11/433,1,6 (also put 11/433's area 1 into my area 6) 125/1,9,3 (put 125/1's area 9 into my area 3) TOTAL SOLUTION (LET'S DO IT LATER) Now the only problem left is building reply chains between multiple nodes. I have a solution to that one, too... In step E1, above, when you copy the un-SENT mail to a temporary file, prefix each message header with the following fields from the PREVIOUS message (according to the msg.reply field): msg.orig_net, msg.orig, msg.to, and msg.date. Why? Because no matter what the message number is AFTER it's been renumbered (step I2), those fields are sufficient to uniquely define the previous message. Then when we renumber it and add it to the *.MSG files, we can also find that previous message and add this one to the reply chain. Slick, no? WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS ... instead of doing it myself? There are three reasons. First of all, I'm not that confident of the design and I want to kick it around with people who've been on the Net a LOT longer than I have. Secondly, I won't have time to do it until late summer, someone could get a LOT done between now and then. And finally, I'm not THAT confident of my programming abilities - it would take me a LONG time to get it done and bug-free. So if somebody is looking for a way to build a program that EVERYBODY would use, the next LISTGEN (as it were), and make some serious Shareware bucks ... Personal note: I'm still trying to compile a list of witches, Neopagans and magicians who can be reached via FidoNet. If this describes you or anyone you know, please send FidoMail to Brad Fidonews Page 12 10 Mar 1986 Hicks, Net 100, Node 523. Blessed Be! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 13 10 Mar 1986 Tom Smith Fido 14/619 ProComm 2.2 Released! Adds Telink and more... Columbia, MO (February 21, 1986). PIL Software Systems is proud to announce version 2.2 of their user supported communica- tions program: ProComm (tm). ProComm is very powerful, yet extremely easy to use. ProComm is suitable for use by the novice as well as the data processing professional. ProComm's wealth of features include the following: => ERROR CHECKING FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS ProComm supports a variety of error checking protocols using both checksum and CRC error checking, which detects 99.99% of all errors! Our Kermit implementa- tion includes all the latest features including data compression, file attributes, and the extension for Sliding Windows, the first widely available full duplex file transfer protocol for micro computers. Sliding Window Kermit is used on The Source and several popular bulletin board systems. Mainframe versions are under development and should be available soon. Sliding Window Kermit is the fastest protocol now available for micros! - XMODEM The de facto standard. - MODEM7 Xmodem batch transfers. - YMODEM Larger blocks for more efficient transfers. - TELINK Batch transfers with exact file size and creation date. - KERMIT Transfer files to a variety of mini and mainframe computers, as well as micros. => TERMINAL EMULATION ProComm emulates a variety of popular intelligent display terminals. This allows you to run full screen mainframe applications by using your PC as a remote terminal. - DEC VT-52 - Lear Siegler ADM 3/5 - DEC VT-100/102 - ADDS Viewpoint - IBM 3101 - WYSE 100 - Televideo 912/920 - Heath/Zenith 19 - Televideo 925/950 - ANSI X3.64 => FULL SCRIPT COMMAND LANGUAGE Write powerful scripts to control all of ProComm's functions. Sample script command files are supplied to get you started. Fidonews Page 14 10 Mar 1986 => UNATTENDED OPERATION Using our Timed Execution Facility, you can set ProComm to "come alive" at any time night or day. Tell ProComm to call your favorite information service, download the required data, and print a report; all while you get a good night's sleep and telephone and connect rates are at their lowest! => FULLY AUTOMATED DIALING DIRECTORY Enter the name, number, and communication settings once, then ProComm can dial from the directory auto- matically. You can scroll through your entries and even search for a given string. Entries may be modi- fied at any time. ProComm will also automatically redial a directory entry until you connect if you wish! It can redial a single number as well as a list of numbers. => ON-LINE REDISPLAY BUFFER ProComm allows you to review lost lines that have scrolled off of the screen. You can page up and down through the redisplay buffer and even search for a string. Several "lost" screens are available at a single keystroke. => EASY USER SETUP ProComm's default settings may be easily changed by the user at any time. The changes can be saved or just be used for the current session. => FULL COMMUNICATIONS PARAMETERS ProComm operates at 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, and 19,200 baud and with Mark, Space, Even, Odd or No parity, 7 or 8 data bits, and 1 or 2 stop bits. ProComm runs on the IBM-PC and compatibles such as Compaq, Tandy, Leading Edge, AT&T, etc. ProComm requires MS-DOS 2.0 or higher and 128K of memory. ProComm runs under several multi-tasking systems such as Topview, Desqview, Multi-Link, Double Dos, and MS-Windows. ProComm operates with a variety of modems. ProComm's default settings are for the Hayes type "AT" command set, but may be easily changed by the user for other modems. ProComm also supports the new generation of modems that feature advanced call progress information. ProComm is distributed using the User Supported concept. The requested registration fee is $25.00. Support is provided through a 24 hour bulletin board system at (314) 449-9401. ProComm may be obtained from the BBS, or by sending $30.00 for registration and media costs to: PIL Software Systems Fidonews Page 15 10 Mar 1986 PO Box 1471 Columbia, MO 65205 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 16 10 Mar 1986 SERVER a Fido (tm) Remote File Service Daemon Randy Bush 122/6 & Ted Powell 122/2 SERVER is a Fido utility which is installed by the SysOp on a "Serving" FidoNet (tm) node. SERVER responds to Service Requests, which arrive in the form of FidoNet messages from "Requesting" users on remote Fidos. Requestors pay for all services according to actual use. When SERVER is executed on the Serving system, normally as a scheduled Fido event, it scans the FidoNet mail area for un-REC'D messages addressed to "Server." After ensuring the sender of a Service Request has an account on the Serving system and has given the correct password, SERVER performs any Service Requests contained in the message. Thus, services are performed for account-holders in response to FidoNet mail, as opposed to a direct phone call. At the discretion of the sysop, services may be performed for local users whom Fido prevents from desirable actions (eg. provide attached files to a user who is not extra). The requestor's account is debited by the actual cost of providing services. The remote service provided by the initial version of SERVER is SENDing messages with files attached. Thus, this initial version is a FidoNet remote file service daemon. Consider the following example request: #42 1 13 Feb 86 17:51:58 (PRIVATE) (KILL/SENT) $0.20 From: Ted Powell, Net 122 Node 4, PSG Van, Vancouver BC To: Server, Net 122 Node 6, PSG Coos Bay, Coos Bay OR Subj: Update a Friend myPassword ; SEND Files\Archive\Server.Arc TO George Lehtola AT 136/601 Warning: A taste for SERVER may lead to a desire for SEAdog. DAYLIGHT/STANDARD Jet-lag Tonic for Fidos DAYLIGHT & STANDARD are MS-DOS programs run by a Fido SysOp when "local time" changes (eg. Daylight savings to or from Standard). They change the system clock, and can optionally adjust Fido's schedules to correspond to the time change. Parameters on the MS-DOS command line control all clock and schedule adjustment. Read and think before running these. SERVER is "freeware", and PSG asks payment from users. DAYLIGHT & STANDARD are distributed for no charge. All are available from Fido 122/6 (503) 269-5202 @ 2400 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 17 10 Mar 1986 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= VIEW FROM THE TOP Region 1 HELP Nodes by Ken Kaplan,Fido 1/0 With the number of nodes fast approaching the 1000 mark and the vast number of messages on Fido 125/1 and Fido 1/0 begging for assistance, your FidoNet Administrators have come up with another solution to decentralize support. During a one week period earlier this year Fido 125/1 collected 350 messages all reporting the same half dozen bugs. Tom Jennings suggested some radical solutions, like pulling the plug or ARCing all the messages together and sending them by file attach back to the originators. Somehow we didn't think those ideas were going to solve the problem, so instead we came up with the concept of "Region 1 HELP Nodes". The HELP nodes will be classified into two types; the first called "Underscore BUG's" and the second called "Underscore HELP". These nodes will be "clearing houses" for old and new sysops and users to discuss problems or obtain assistance on a specific topic. The sysop of the HELP node will not be expected to know all of the answers. Other sysops who have been helping out on the proposed HELP topics should continue to do the same as before. The establishment of the HELP nodes will provide direction to new sysops and help take the load off of TJ and the FidoNet Administrators. The intent is for the HELP nodes to restrict themselves to Fido and FidoNet related issues. The Region 1 HELP Nodes that we have selected are: 1/98 Fido_BUG's_WEST David Dodell(114/15) 1/99 Fido_BUG's_EAST Marv Shelton(107/311) 1/100 IBM_HELP Gee Wong(107/312) 1/101 DEC_RB_HELP Rob Elliott(115/100) 1/102 SYO_HELP E. J. McKernan(14/386) 1/103 OTRONA_HELP Open 1/104 Multilink_HELP Allen Miller(108/10) 1/105 DoubleDOS_HELP Oscar Barlow(104/56) 1/106 PC_Jr_HELP Bruce Fuqua(900/1) 1/107 Routing_HELP Ben Baker(100/76) [Mail Only] 1/108 Modem_HELP Jim Ryan(141/9) 1/109 Tandy_HELP Neal Curtin(138/14) These nodes are all alternate identities, so none of these boards should actually be the node numbers as listed above if you log onto it. Obviously if you need to send mail you have your choice, but you are better off selecting the actual identity over the alternate. The guidelines for what changes should be made on the above boards are being left up to the individual sysops. It is our recommendation that some identification be placed either in the Fidonews Page 18 10 Mar 1986 WELCOME1.BBS or BULLETIN.BBS and a separate message area be devoted to the HELP topic. As far as the BUG's go, those sysops will file attach a verified list to TJ and he will react to it as time permits. Please allow the sysops of the above HELP nodes a couple of weeks to get set up before you send in the troops. We will list them in the nodelist that is published this coming Friday. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 19 10 Mar 1986 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR PC! SUPERDOTS! KALAH! Professional quality games include PASCAL source! From the author of KALAH Version 1.6, SuperDots, a variation of the popular pencil/paper DOTS game, has MAGIC and HIDDEN DOT options. KALAH 1.7 is an African strategy game requiring skill to manipulate pegs around a playing board. Both games use the ANSI Escape sequences provided with the ANSI.SYS device driver for the IBM-PC, or built into the firmware on the DEC Rainbow. Only $19.95 each or $39.95 for both exciting games! Please specify version and disk format. These games have been written in standard TURBO-PASCAL and run on the IBM-PC, DEC Rainbow 100 (MSDOS and CPM), CPM/80, CPM/86, and PDP-11. Other disk formats are available, but minor customization may be required. BSS Software P.O. Box 3827 Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 For every order placed, a donation will be made to the Fido coordinators! Also, if you have a previous version of KALAH and send me a donation, a portion of that donation will also be sent to the coordinators. When you place an order, BE CERTAIN TO MENTION WHERE YOU SAW THE AD since it also appears in PC Magazine and Digital Review. Questions and comments can be sent to: Brian Sietz at Fido 107/17 (609) 429-6630 300/1200/2400 baud ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 20 10 Mar 1986 We have a confession to make. We've been holding out on you. For several years now we've been using a program called MACRO to boost our productivity. But we've been keeping it a closely guarded secret. Even our most intimate clients have been unaware of it's existence. Now, however, we've decided to release it to the PC user community. If you have ever used a macro assembler, then you already know how useful macros can be. For the rest of you, well, a good macro processor can do half of your work for you. MACRO works with any normal text file, and hence can be used as a powerful front-end to almost any language. Here's a sample of what MACRO can do for you: 1. Put parameters in your programs, allowing you to easily change table sizes, ranges of values, and so forth. 2. Put conditional code in your programs, allowing you to write one program, and then "switch" parts on and off easily for different customers and applications. 3. Perform integer arithmetic and string manipulation before your program is compiled, saving run time. 4. Write programs that customize themselves when you compile them, based on commands given and questions answered during the macro scan. MACRO is available for only $95 from System Enhancement Associates 21 New Street, Wayne NJ 07470 Or call our convenient order line at (201) 473-5153 (VISA and MasterCard accepted). Mention that you saw this ad, and we'll donate $10 to the national FidoNet coordinators when you order. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 21 10 Mar 1986 Now available from Micro Consulting Associates!! Public Domain collection - 300+ "ARC" archives - 10 megs of software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When unpacked, you get approximately 17 megabytes worth of all kinds of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc... This collection is the result of more than 10 months of intensive downloads from just about 100 or more BBS's and other sources, all of which have been examined, indexed and archived for your convenience. Starting a Bulletin Board System? Want to add on to your software base without spending thousands of dollars? This is the answer!!! To order the library, send $100 (personal or company check, postal money order or company purchase order) to: Micro Consulting Associates, Fido 103/511 Post Office Box 4296 200-1/2 E. Balboa Boulevard Balboa, Ca. 92661-4296 Please allow 3 weeks for delivery of your order. Note: No profit is made from the sale of the Public Domain software in this collection. The price is applied entirely to the cost of downloading the software over the phone lines, running a BBS to receive file submissions, and inspecting, cataloguing, archiving and maintaining the files. Obtaining this software yourself through the use of a computer with a modem using commercial phone access would cost you much more than what we charge for the service... Please specify what type of format you would like the disks to be prepared on. The following choices are available: IBM PC-DOS Backup utility Zenith MS-DOS 2.11 Backup Utility DSBackup Fastback Plain ol' files (add $50, though, it's a lot of work and takes more diskettes...) Add $30 if you want the library on 1.2 meg AT disks (more expensive disks). There are no shipping or handling charges. California residents add 6% tax. For each sale, $10 will go to the FidoNet Administrators. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 22 10 Mar 1986 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 11 Apr 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perigee. 19 May 1986 Steve Lemke's next birthday. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to Fido 1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to Fidonet's newest newsletters, Fidonet PCNews and Fidonet Languages. Contact Wes Cowley at 137/19 for information or to make arrangements to pickup one or both of the newsletters. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone interested in starting a FidoNet "Pen Pal" Program please contact Jim Ryan at Fido 141/9. ----------------------------------------------------------------- I'm looking for a copy of DSR (Digital Standard RUNOFF, also known as Rice University RUNOFF) for MS-DOS (the IBM PC). Please contact Jim Ryan at Fido 141/9 if you have any leads. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Happy 25th birthday to Sally Kaplan at Fido 100/22! ----------------------------------------------------------------- USERFILE.ARC - v1.0 Allen Miller - Fido 108/10 USERFILE is a program that I wrote to take the place of the multitude of files called FIDOUSER.(COM)/(EXE). It seems that there are a blue million of programs that will list entries from the USER.BBS file. Each program of this type lists the particular fields that the author (sysop) was interested in at the time. Additionally, some of these do some SCREEN writing so if you want the information printed or saved to a disk file for sorting or downloading - forget it. Fidonews Page 23 10 Mar 1986 USERFILE will list any and each field from USER.BBS that you specify and in the order that you specify. Additionally, you can use DOS redirect to send the output to your printer or a disk file. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 24 10 Mar 1986