************ Topic 16 Sat Dec 06, 1986 C.HOGAN (Forwarded) Sub: How To Start A BBS what is needed to do it? 9 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 9, Topic 16 Message 1 Sat Dec 06, 1986 C.HOGAN (Forwarded) I need help, I want to start a BBS but do not know to much about it. Can someone recomed a BBS prog. that will work with a westridge modem, a 128 in 128 mode, a 1571 disk drive, and be able to have commodore and apple computers use it. It must have the ability to have multi users at once, with passwords, and possibly a CB simuklatoer. Also, it is only a part-time board so if i turn off the computer will everything be lost(mail,software,etc.)? It must have up- down loading capabilities and auto-cyceling E-Mail. Can I d-load one that can do all of this from the sofware libraries on GEniw or is one like this impossible with my equipmnt. Oh. i also have a 1541 disk drive. thank you, Chris Hogan PS. My modem is 300 baud. ------------ Category 9, Topic 16 Message 2 Sat Dec 06, 1986 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] (Forwarded) Hello Chris, as for the C128, it was never designed as a multi-user machine. and trying to do it with the equipment you have is very near im@posiblle as you would slow down the system to nothing doing multiuser functions. know of no software available that can do multiusers on a C128 BBS system nor do I thionk there ever will be one (unless you do farther board supporting XModem should work fine. *SounDesign* ------------ Category 9, Topic 16 Message 3 Sun Dec 07, 1986 C.HOGAN (Forwarded) ALRIGHT, SCRUB THE PART ABOUT MULTI-USERS. HOW ABOUT THE PART ABOUT EVERYTHING BEEING LOST IF I TURN OFF THE COMPUTER? COULD YOU PLEASE RECOMEND A PROG. TO D- LOAD? CHRIS HOGAN ------------ Category 9, Topic 16 Message 4 Tue Dec 09, 1986 DEB [*deb!*] at 17:04 EST BBS'ing 101 - by someone who has/does ----------- Choosing and running a BBS has several aspects which you should seriously consider before making a choice. First, understand that most serious BBS programs will store EVERYTHING on disk, so that if you do lose power or have to take it down for something else that you will NOT loose the messages, announcements, downloads, etc. With everything except the software which runs it on disk, the speed of your drive and the capacity of the drive become incredibly important. When I'm not here on GEnie <and lord only KNOWS how much storage this RoundTable takes here!>, I operate a 3 MEG BBS for our local Commodore users here at home. Even 3 MEG, running at IEEE speeds with my C-64 seems at times slow and I'm constantly running out of room. The main features a BBS may have include: *> Messages *> Private E-Mail *> Downloading *> Chat with the Sysop *> Announcements/Bulletins *> Polling/Voting *> Games Messages -------- Your message base is sometimes the most important part of a local BBS. Its an open forum where people who share interests, computers, or other binding forces and who all live in the same general area can communicate with each other, but they can communicate at their own leisure. Truly, there are people who live in the same town, belong to the same users group as I do and whom I NEVER see or speak to on the phone, but we have been leaving messages and visiting on the boards for YEARS. A message base can have several features, some of them more important than others, depending on just what you need it to be and to do. Probably the easiest mistake to make when considering BBS software is to figure that 'messages are messages' and not 'test drive' the use of the message board. Look for any or some of these things. Think about just which ones might be more important to the way you want your BBS to be used by its members: *> Absolute message number addressing *> Automatic 'roll over' and deletion of old messages as new ones fill up *> Ability to REPLY to a message, and have it remember both the USER you are replying to and the subject of the message. *> Notation of 'There are Replies' to a message which has more discussion *> Private Messages *> Restricted Message boards *> Text formatting to the width the member selects. <<IE, 40 or 80>> *> Automatic word wrap when people ENTER messages *> Editing options prior to saving the message *> Members are informed which messages are TO them when they log in *> Ability to read messages non stop *> message SCANNING <<just the to/from and subject lines>> *> Highest message numbers you've read are remembered by the BBS from visit to visit...a READ NEW works. *> Multiple 'sub-boards' or categories *> minimum disk storage for the messages *> Ability to direct message boards to several disk drives, as needed *> Special announcements/instructions automatically appear as member enters specific message boards *> good sized message capacity. Many boards limit you to 25 lines of 40 characters. Just TRY to leave any kind of cogent reply to an important discussion about ANYTHING in 1000 CHARACTERS or less! *> Ability to SEARCH the messages ... SEARCH TO:username SEARCH FROM:username SEARCH Subject:'string' Also, there are two major constructions of multiple categories on a BBS. One of them has each message base category on a separate menu, with the user moving thru menues to each one he's interested in. The other keeps all the categories in one large message base, so that there are no menu switchings to go thru to read all the new messages. Usually, these kind of message bases allow you to select and de-select which message bases you want to read. If you have only a C-64, for instance, you might not want to even read the C-128 message area...and you'd just de-select or cancell it. There are several ways to evaluate how well a BBS *works*. 1. Go use an existing one running the software you have your eyes on for a bit. 2. Ask several SYSOPS who run the BBS software. 3. TEST it yourself, with simulated users, or a few good friends for a couple of weeks. be lengthy, tho. Give it a good workout!!! Private E-Mail -------------- Private Mail is accomplished one of two ways-or sometimes both! The first and most common way is to have a completely separate E-Mail area which is ONLY for private mail between the members of your BBS. The second way is to allow private messages on the regular message boards, but which are invisible to everyone except the person that wrote the message and the person the message is to. Sometimes E-Mail is not appropriate for the kind of board you need to put up, and if this is the case, you'll want to be SURE that it CAN be turned off! Downloading ----------- Touted sometimes as the basic reason to HAVE a BBS, the downloading of public domain software is always a popular item. There are some considerations here as you decide what you want to provide. *> Which protocol do you want to use? XMODEM, PUNTER, or both? *> Will it allow you to LIST a text file as well as receive it under protocol download? *> Does it work properly at all supported baud rates and protocols? *> Does it allow you to create your own directory listing with small descriptions of the files? *> Does it give users direct access to your own disk directory <a nono!> *> Are users expected to remember the ENTIRE filename from a long list and type it in correctly? *> Are the downloads numbered for easier reference? *> Can the downloads libraries be divided? *> Can the actual directories referenced by the library area be on more than just 1 disk drive? *> Are new uploads avail immediately,hidden, or can you choose? *> Is there a QUICK filenames only listing of a directory available as well as a longer one with descriptions? *> Can you put up 'special' files invisibly-those with the right filename could download it if they knew the filename? *> Can you place parts of your downloads in a restricted area? *> If people have full message board priviledges, are full download library priviledges automatically assumed? *> If using XMODEM, how are TEXT files place on the disk? In ASCII, PETSCII or whatever they show up in? *> Is there a way to tell how long a file is before its downloaded? *> Is there a way for the sysop to automagically move a new uploaded file into the public downloads area without taking the board down? *> Will the software keep track of which files are downloaded and how many times? *> Will the software tell WHO uploaded the file so that other members can easily refer questions to him/her?! More Features ------------- Other favorites include CHAT...where the member calling in can request the sysop to type, in real time with them. Its always nice to be able to have the software 'know' you are not REALLY there, and tell folks that when they request this feature. All the boards I've ever used have always indicated both VISUALLY and AUDIBLY when a CHAT request was made. The screen turns a bright border color and stays that way until the user logs off. That way, if I come by just after a chat request, I'd know at a brief glance that I had been paged. Announc...
Amiga7878