SG August 1993 Mme BULLETIN

US $3.50 BOARD Canada $4.95 SVS TEMS 9 a SS 77-550) -78651 MAGAZINE a ir WES a. Sy a a “ences. aes OT on

A ae ~ « e > oO " a wa " *, ” i sas. 7 oe — oe a i ; : B ; ; ; ., . A. 7 a ° ® wD rceh is, 55 es ° . i & 2 ° A ° nes y _ re . . . See _ bd . ‘ :

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NEW COLUMN! Commodore Connections

© plus Macintosh, Internet

| |

BBS Notebook visits Worldwide Brochures, Travel Mates BBS & ~ Travel Mates Il, Idaho Interactive, The Lock Box, and PreRapture BBS

0 ll

08

1

The Innovation Continues

of

ard at work in sun-swept Florida, our fearless developers have discovered the future of BBSing... EGA/VGA graphics and ANSI together on the same BBS! The Major BBS Version 6.1 gives you the power to create a graphical DOS-based BBS that also supports non-graphics users — everyone can use your system.

Our new multi-lingual/multi-protocol architecture lets you easily plug in languages, such as Spanish and French, and alternate presentation protocols like RIPscrip and NAPLPS. You can offer as many as 50 different languages for up to 256 simultaneous users on a single machine. Add new languages with just a couple of keystrokes.

Use our RIPscrip add-on option to give your users dazzling online graphics. The Sysop “paint” tool works directly with The Major BBS configuration utility and lets you draw beautiful scenes and mouse-driven menus. A royalty-free, graphics terminal program is included for distribution to your customers.

Version 6.1 also includes “doors” to a second machine, better MS-Windows support, MHS file attachments, an “upload message” feature in E-mail and Forums, improved security, and much more.

That’s just the beginning. Our new Fax/Online add-on lets you integrate fax-mail and fax-server technology into your BBS. And our new Major Gateway/Internet add-on directly ties you into the world’s largest message network.

i TA ee As the competition fades into the ». Sunset, we continue our quest to give you the best BBS in the world. See N your local software dealer or call \ us at 1-800-328-1128.

VERSION 6.1.

The Major BBS’ —

1 weus already have 2 User=1D on this system, {0 Please enter. it neret Oitervines If you'd 1b e Bf eu

na RiPscrip gives your BBS the dazzling look-and-feel of a graphical system.

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Add new languages and presentation protocols — or create your own!

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Turn your BBS into a fax/data server with the Fax/Online add-on option.

CTICOMM

| 4101 SW 47th Ave. « Suite 101 ¢ Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314 BBS: (305) 583-7808 « Fax: (305) 583-7846 = Voice: (305) 583-5990

CALLERS DIGEST

Publisher/Advertising Director Richard Paquette

Associate Publisher/Editor John Carcione

Design and Illustration Terry Wilson, Rainbow Creek Studios

Art Director Jeanne Lorenzo

Pre-Press Production Beth Tomasello

Newsstand Consultant William A. Townsend BNL Distribution Services, Inc. 100A Centre Bivd. Marlton, NJ 08053 Tel: 1-609-985-8550

Subscription Fulfillment Starr Fulfillment Corp. 900 Haddon Ave., Ste 326 Collingswood, NJ 08108 1-609-858-4411

Editorial and Advertsing — We can be contacted online at “The Livewire BBS,” which is the support BBS, set modem at 8,N,1 and call 1-609-235-5297. Voice Office number is: 1-609-953-9110; Fax is: 1-609-953-7961; hard- copy mailing address is: Callers Digest Inc, 701 Stokes Rd, Medford, NJ 08055.

Subscriptions USA CANADA/ MEXICO 1 Yr. (12 issues) $30 $50

2 Yrs.(24 issues) $50 $90

Call our order HOTLINE at 1-800-822-0437 8am-4pm EST, Mon-Fri, and charge your subscription to your Visa or MasterCard, or send check, money order payable to Callers Digest, Inc.

All material is copyrighted 1990/91/92/93 by Callers Digest, Inc., all rights reserved. Material in this publica- tion MAY NOT be reproduced in any form without writ- ten permission from the publisher of BBS Callers Digest.

BBS Callers Digest (ISSN #1055-2812) is published monthly by Callers Digest, Inc., 701 Stokes Rd., Medford, NJ 08055. BBS Callers Digest is not responsible for the opinions expressed by contributors. Questions and com- ments are welcomed. Unless otherwise instructed, we as- sume all rights to letters, articles, or other communications sent to BBS Callers Digest as unconditionally assigned for publication. Material not accompanied by a stamped, self- addressed envelope will not be returned. Uploads are ac- cepted only in ZIP format at “The Livewire BBS,” 609-235- 5297 (HST, 8,N,1).

POSTMASTER: Please send all change of address (with old label and new address) to: Starr Fulfillment Corp., 900 Haddon Ave., Ste 326, Collingswood, NJ 08108.

Printed in United States

)E THIS ISSUE

August 1993

INSE e U

Volume 4, Number 8

FEATURES

THE MAGIC OF PCB-UUCP UN RA IMIUTED. soneceosboa0ndc 0d o0n00 Co eNO BOD CDOOD [NOE 4

COMPUTER-RELATED POLITICAL GROUPS — THE GOOD GUYS OPERA LATA TET TG TORT ee wis x vet ON eas oN lea co ah ee 44

COLUMNS

POLISH YOUR NETIQUETTE ON USENET ............ 8 Newcomers to the Internet by Mike Robinson

LEGAL GUIDE, UTILITIES, AND GLOSSARY.......... 10 Unele Hank’s Shareware Reviews by Hank Hurteau

MODEM MASTERY PAYS OFF...............+.0006- 14

BBS Callers: Who Are They? by Richard Lowell Harding

COMPUTING & PARENTS... NEXT ON GERALDO! ..18 Tales From the Lighter Side of Computing by Carol Carmichael

AVOID SOME COMMON BUSINESS PROBLEMS... .22 Bell Business Report by Laura Bell

TRAVELING: BYIBBS® 2... 2. See gue es 30 BBS Notebook by Alan Bechtold

BBSING ON A COMMODORE ..................... 40 Commodore Connections By Gaelyne R. Moranec

SQUASHING YOUR FILES 5 oir pt terete rac rs 42 Telecommunicating on Your Mac by Michael A. Kuykendall

DATA ENCRYPTION AND BBSs..................--. 48 The Law and BBS Users by Shari Steele

PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS, HAYES REVIEWS ........ 52 Modem Information by Victor R. Volkman

ORIGINS OE THE BBS. 3.2.20). oer eee ate ee 60

Walt’s Tutorial by Walt Ledbetter

ET CETERA...

NEVVS CIN Eig pisiea. scour © 5, «2 su. nora cade chert aie eae 2 BESCEYBBES'LIST UNS. ©. Batrin. fe tee nc ae 51 BOOK: RELEASES =. 0. oi. = ices) cesie saree ae ne eee 62 CLASSIFIEDS Os, io ies olin asate, cate er 64 ADVERTISERS INDEX. . 20> cons 5c ee ee 68

COVER: Terry Wilson

AUGUST 1993 © 1

Rusty Edie

Dual Eliminator

Rusty n Edie’s BBS announces the introduction of our their Dual Eliminator. Simply plug your phone line to the Dual Eliminator and then plug the Dual Eliminator into your modem. This device consists of 2 passive electronic filters that handle both high and low frequency noise from the phone line. Both high and low frequency are independently adjustable with knobs that mount on the front of the unit. Surge protection is provided by an electronic varistor.

A light emitting diode, also mounted on the front of the unit, glows whenever the device is eliminating noise from the phone lines. This device can solve the majority

of noise problems associated with telecommunications today, and is sold with a 30 day, money back guarantee. They sell for $25 each plus $4 shipping and handling. To order, call Rusty n Edie’s at 216-758-8342 or call their BBS number 216-726-3589, they will accept Visa or MasterCard.

2 © BBS CALLERS DIGEST

~ NEWS LINE |

ADMISSION OF GUILT

“OOPS! I (Alan Bechtold) goofed (twice) BIG TIME! The telephone number listed in our June issue, for STAR-LINK NETWORK BBS in Brooklyn, NY, was incorrect. As this is actually the number of an innocent in- dividual’s home and NOT a BBS, PLEASE DON’T DIAL IT WITH YOUR MODEM! My apologies to Michael Keylin, STAR-LINK NET- WORK BBS system operator and to the readers! With 10 14.4 lines, STAR- LINK NETWORK BBS is a high-qual- ity multiline general interest BBS that deserves your call. You can actually reach it by dialing 718-972-6099. Recommended!

The telephone number listed in our July issue, for THE LIBRARY BBS in Davis, FL was incorrect. PLEASE DO NOT CALL IT WITH A MODEM! My apologies to Terry Woodward, THE LIBRARY BBS sys- tem operator and to the readers! You can actually reach it by dialing: 305- 581-4983. THE LIBRARY BBS is a also a high quality multiline general in- terest BBS that deserves your call.”

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE

Medford, NJ — BBS Callers Digest back issues are available for all months ex- cept April 1992. Prices are: 1-4 copies $5.00 each, 5 to 9 copies $4.00 each, 10+ copies only $3.00 each. All back issue sales are mailed to you first class mail. Order NOW while copies are available. Call 609-953-9110 and use your Visa or MasterCard. If ordering by mail, please include your complete return address along with the months you are ordering and how many copies of each month; include your check or money order payable to:

Callers Digest Inc., 701 Stokes Road, Medford NJ 08055.

RIP DOOR RELEASED

ep Stony Brook, NY — Searchlight Software has released a freeware RIP graphics door game, RIP Puzzle, that is the first BBS door to take full ad- vantage of the RIPscrip graphics pro- tocol developed by TeleGrafix, Inc. Currently the leading graphical stan- dard among BBS systems, RIP has been announced as the protocol of choice by most major BBS vendors and terminal software developers.

Searchlight’s RIP Puzzle door lets callers who are using RIP compatible terminal programs (such as RIPterm) take advantage of mouse support and see features like windows, pick lists and fast graphics animation online while playing the game. RIP Puzzle works with any BBS program that supports doors (it does not require a RIP-com- patible BBS program) and it can use a door.sys file, pcboard.sys file, or com- mand line parameters. RIP Puzzle sup- ports any COM port (arbitrary base ad- dress/interrupt) and includes support for both FOSSIL drivers and Intelligent DigiBoards.

RIPUZ100.ZIP (43k) is available today from many BBS systems; or download it from Searchlight’s sup- port BBS at 516-689-2566. RIP Puzzle is FREEWARE!

For more information, please con- tact Frank LaRosa, Searchlight Software, PO Box 640, Stony Brook NY 11790 or call 516-751-2966 Fax 516-689-2566.

HAYES NEW PRICING ANNOUNCED

Atlanta, GA — Hayes Microcomputer

Products, Inc. announced the world- wide implementation of its Sysop Program, which offers qualified sysops the Opportunity to purchase selected Hayes products at discounted prices. This program, effective through September 30, 1993, also includes en- hanced customer service support and marketing activities, including a spe- cial rebate offer on Smartcom for Windows.

The products included in Hayes Global Sysop Program are Hayes Smartmodem OPTIMA 14400 FAX144 and Hayes ULTRA Smartmodem 14400. Also included are Hayes ESP Communications Accelerator for Windows, hayes ISDN System Adapter, Hayes ISDN PC Adapter and Millennium 8000, a high-density communications plat- form that provides a long term, upgradable solution for wide area connectivity to both host and local area network environments.

“We are always looking for ways in which to provide the sysop communi- ty with the best technology available, in both hardware and software prod- ucts, at affordable prices,” said Hayes President Dennis C. Hayes. “Smartcom for Windows, our newest communications package, allows sysops the ability to develop their own custom interfaces with its built-in powerful scripting capability.”

Hayes has also broadened its service and support to better serve the sysop community. Hayes now offers sysops a variety of aggressive product oppor- tunities, US same day shipment on or- ders received by 3 pm EST (subject to product availability), and free pre-ship service for returned products. Hayes continues to support its Sysop’s Forum, which contains a variety of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) with files and information on many bulletin board system software packages.

Hayes is also implementing new marketing programs for sysops and their respective bulletin boards. For every copy of Smartcom for Windows communications software ordered by bulletin board users through their reg- istered Hayes sysop, Hayes will con- tribute to the support of the sysop’s bulletin board. Also, the sysop’s bul-

letin board will receive a free copy of Smartcom for Windows with their first order for an OPTIMA 144 + FAX144 or ULTRA 144.

Best known as the leader in micro- computer modems, Hayes develops, supplies and supports computer com- munications equipment and software for personal computer and computer communications networks. The com- pany distributes its products in over 60 countries through a global network of authorized distributors, dealers, mass merchants, VARs, systems integrators and original equipment manufacturers.

For more information, please con- tact Hayes Customer Service: 404441- 1617 (US) 519-746-5000 (Canada) 44- 252-775544 (UK) 852-887-1037 (HK) 33-1-34-22-30-15 (France) or online with Hayes BBS 800-US HAYES (US/Canada) 404HI MODEM 404- 729-6525 (ISDN Access) 44-252- 775599 (UK) 852-887-7590 (HK).

RIP-BASED WILDCAT! BBS & QMODEMPRO SOFTWARE

Bakersfield, CA — Mustang Software, Inc. (MSI), supplier of both BBS and communications software, has intro- duced new versions of its WILDCAT! BBS (v3.9) and QmodemPRO com- munications software (v1.5) that sup- port the new Remote Imaging Protocol (RIP) graphical interface.

The new software packages are the first in the industry to integrate RIP for both the host and terminal user.

RIP is the emerging graphical stan- dard for the bulletin board system (BBS) industry and introduces new graphics performance levels for both sysops and users. The RIP-equipped WILDCAT! v3.9 can send full-screen graphics to callers’ and lets mouse users select BBS commands by clicking on selection buttons or screen prompts — very much like popular online ser- vices such as Prodigy and America Online. WILDCAT! 3.9 still retains full support for standard text and ansi.

In order for a caller to access the WILDCAT! v3.9’s RIP graphics, the caller needs to uses RIP-equipped Communications software such as

QmodemPRO vI.5. Like its WILD- CAT! counterpart, QmodemPRO v1.5 allows callers to view full-screen graph- ics and use a mouse when connected to a RIP-ready BBS. RIP also lets the QmodemPRO caller select BBS com- mands by clicking on graphic selection buttons or screen prompts.

“Adding RIP support to QmodemPRO makes this new graph- ics level available to the millions of WILDCAT! users,” said Jim Harrer, MSI President and CEO. “Our goal is to make QmodemPRO the tool of choice for connections to mail systems, whether it isa BBS, CompuServe, MCI or other online services.”

For more information on WILD- CAT! BBS or QmodemPRO please contact: Mustang Software Inc., PO Box 2264, Bakersfield CA 93303 or call 805-395-0223 Fax 805-395-0713 BBS 805-395-0650.

NEW buttonFILE FOR WINDOWS

Bellevue, WA — ButtonWare an- nounces the immediate shipment of buttonFILE, a simple to use Windows flat filer. Targeted for the easy-to-use and inexpensive niche of the Windows market, buttonFILE allows names, companies, phone numbers, con- tacts, any kind of data, to be filed on over a dozen pre-defined card decks (databases). All card decks can be cus- tomized, and data can be printed on over 100 pre-defined and customizable forms. CEO Jim Button commented, “buttonFILE is easier to learn and use than any competing product. You don’t even need the manual!”.

¢ Work with over a dozen pre-de- signed templates, or customize a card deck to fit your needs.

¢ Multiple Document Interface (MDI) allows multiple files to be open at the same time.

View files as cards in a Rolodex (card) format, or in a spreadsheet like table view.

¢ Print lists, mailing labels, 3x5 cards, envelopes, reports, including Avery Dennison laser and tractor feed forms — point and click with a

Continued on page 68

AUGUST 1993 ¢ 3

| COVER STORY | STORY

THE NaGic OF PCB-UUCP

BY RICK ROBINSON

L. the legends of King Arthur, we read about Middle Ages Camelot, the noble Knights of the Round Table with Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, Queen Guinevere and the wizard and chief advisor to Arthur, Merlin.

Rewritten numerous times over the years, it has been told in one account that in his august years King Arthur sailed to the mystical island of Avalon, supposedly gone forever. However some say he will one day return.

At presstime he had not done so. His magician, how- ever, has shown...but not in England. Merlin has reap- peared in Canada.

In 1992, under the di- rection of the consultant and modern-day computer wizard Roy Pereira, Merlin Systems Inc. was begun in Ottawa.

Pereira’s specialty lay in creating e-mail gateways, with his first product line the PCB-MHS, a PCBoard to Novell MHS gateway. PCBoard owner Clark Development was immedi- ately interested and today remains its exclusive dis- tributor.

“Fred Clark [of Clark

4 e BBS CALLERS DIGEST

Roy Pereira

Development] really helped me out at the beginning since I was a rookie to the software business,” said Pereira. And through them “I was invited to both BBSCON and COMDEX to demonstrate the product in the PCBoard booth.”

Next came PCBxBase, a recently available program able to read a dBase III+ PRG program and run it.

VERSION 1

The flagship of Merlin followed: PCB- UUCP, allowing PCBoard BBS soft- ware to exchange mail with UUCP/RFC822/RFC1036 based sys- tems...giving PCBoard users access to mail on the Internet and USENET. It was a project spawned at the request of a client seeking a UUCP gateway for PCBoard at their site. A week after in-

stalling the system Pereira decided it wasn’t sufficient; he figured he could easily do better.

“I had some experience with the UUCP protocols, so it wasn’t long be- fore I had something to demon- strate.”

And working on a laptop, Pereira made quick work of the project: In just four weeks he had a beta test team that spanned the globe.

“I started off with simple functions to gateway Internet and USENET mes- sages into and out of PCBoard,” said Pereira, “Then I added things we needed and that no other packages had.”

Of these additions, the LISTER V function is one of Pereira’s favorites. LISTER V allows a system to construct it own mailing list and automatically take subscription request from Internet users. “No other DOS prod- uct could do that.”

Ready for the general market- place, PCB-UUCP version 1.0 was re- leased in March of this year.

“It took off Immediately,” said a sur- prised Pereira. Before getting a handle on the demand “we kept running out of diskettes and bubble-wrapped en- velopes for mailing...and we exhaust- ed our printed manual supply.”

The popularity of the program owes much to its laundry list of offer- ings.

Some of the more outstanding fea- tures of v 1.0 included private e-mail, with mail waiting flag set (optional); attached files/automatic uude- code/uuencode (optional); seamless replies (You don’t have to enter a To: line in the text of your reply); routing of private mail to and from other sys- tems; and, allows the sysop to add ‘ser- vices’ for PCB-UUCP to automatically handle incoming messages addressed to certain users.

As for the newsgroups, PCB-UUCP automatically uncompresses and un- batches; batches and compresses out- going newsgroups (optional);offers moderated newsgroups; read-only newsgroups; distribution of news- groups to other systems (including your own newsgroups); and, plenty more.

PCB-UUCP also includes ‘mouse-

able’ install and setup programs as well as online contextsensitive help, each designed to be ‘goof-proof.’ After the immense response to PCB-UUCP, Pereira set about doing what came naturally — trying to top

It was a project spawned at the request of a client seeking a UUCP gateway for PCBoard at their site.

himself. He began collecting com- ments and suggestions from pur- chasers for appropriation into the new version, 1.1.

STAND BY YOUR CUSTOMER

“The biggest problem was providing excellent technical support,” said Pereira, allud- ing to published reports of the poor quality of support offered by other soft- ware compa- nies. “A piece of software isn’t any good if you can’t get an- swers to your questions quick-

ae

pcbuucp) was set up along with a sup- port conference on the Salt Air BBS

(801-261-8976).

IN THE BEGINNING But for Pereira, it wasn’t always Internet.

For his end-of-year ninth-grade English project, Pereira used a Commodore Pet computer to devise a a Pac-Man based game taking its plot from John Steinbeck’s ‘The Pearl.’

“My teacher was so amazed at the plot resemblance, I got a 90 percent.”

It was this blend of computer pro- gramming skills and an interest in the written word that served as an impetus for Pereira shortly after: “...1 made up my mind that I wanted to own my own computer software company.”

Reading King Arthur, Pereira found a name. And in March of 1992, with the official registering of Merlin Systems, he had is company.

Officials at the Federal Govern- ment agency for whom he was con- sulting at the time were so impressed

Continues...

L£FRRO Se) BEE 4

Learn how in the New

Wy." PREMIERE BRS PROFITS

Video Tutorial and Starter Kit $99.95

Pereira con- tinued: “The Internet and USENET are not easy subjects to swallow, es- pecially by sysops who had never heard of them a few months before.”

To remedy this and to en- sure quality sup- port, a news-

group (alt.bbs. ®

(includes shipping 2 day mail). The Premiere Kit includes the how-to videotape, the how-to manual, and much more! The Ultimate BB$ Profits Kit for $499.95 includes The Premiere Kit, The Major BBS Professional Bulletin Board System V6.0, and the How to Write a Business Plan Program by the Small Business Institute, plus much, much more. Call for shipping rates outside U.S. Add $10.00 for C.0.D.'s To order a kit call toll-free 1-800-453-8308 anytime, or to receive a FREE information packet call DREAMWORKS 1-602-893-3988 anytime, or write to BBSDG Profits, 5037 East Keresan, Phoenix, Arizona 85044 Visa, Mastercard, C.O.D's, checks, and money orders welcome.

(Wasa C.0.D.'s - money orders or cashiers checks only, VISA Please allow 2-3 weeks for check orders.

AUGUST 1993 © 5

by e-mail gateways he’d developed for them, that “I was pushed to start my own software company from my su- perior.” Soon Pereira became Merlin and his consulting services slipped be- yond the government to the private sector.

Pereira says he was pleased with the opportunity to discover what the “real world” was looking for in soft- ware products, not to mention the money that was to be made: “It’s amaz- ing what you can write that will fill the gap between other applications and make money” doing it.

THE LATEST RELEASE

Version 1.1 of PCB-UUCP, which is now available, began with less of a bang than its predecessor. Pereira’s goal was to shape v 1.1 into full com- patibility with PCBoard 15.0, which at the time was in alpha testing. And when the beta version of 1.1 was ready, it was sent along to everyone buying PCBoard.

“Not everyone was ready to take the bumps of using beta code,” said Pereira. “That was a lesson we learned

USER GROUP INFO

If you are the President or the decision making person in a User Group, you might be interested to _ know that the BBS Callers Digest has a special program just for you!

If you are interested in offering your members a discounted subscription to BBS Callers Digest,

then you need to contact us.

Along with a group discount for your members, we will pay you commission to obtain these new or renewal orders.

For more information, please contact the publisher, Richard Paquette, at your earliest convenience. Call 609-953-9110 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or write us at: Callers Digest, PO Box 416, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 (attn: Group Sales)

STARTUP TIP:

PREDICTIONS:

puter.

will be standard.

the hard way.”

But things swiftly returned to the brisk success of v 1.0 and users, as well as Pereira, are currently reaping the benefits.

Some of the key features added to PCB-UUCP v 1.1 follow:

¢ Fully PCBoard 15.0 compliant, making the mar- riage of PCBoard and PCB-UUCP seamless. (Quite nice for those with PCBoard).

e PagSat com- patible. PagSat being the satel- lite USENET dis- tribution system from PagSat, Inc. of Palo Alto, CA.

© Smart Ar- chiving. PCB- UUCP has always been able to archive incoming articles from select newsgroups into files and also extract

STARTUP TIP & PREDICTIONS FROM THE WIZARD

@ “Let me say to anyone thinking about releasing a product: Support will eat up your time like nothing else. Thus, you have to create software that is easy to install and configure, software that the inexperienced end-user can manipulate without worrying about millions of options or switches. Having an INSTALL program that sets everything up in a basic config- uration — ready to go — is invaluable to someone who doesn’t fully un- derstand what the software is all about, but just wants it to work.”

@ BBSs will be all GUIs (probably RIP-based) @ BBSs will be commonplace in the corporate market.

@ The Internet will be a way of life for almost everyone who owns a com-

@ ISDN will finally be made available in all of North America (grin).

@ There will be a new computer architecture provided by Apple and IBM that will not be 8086-based and a new GUI operating system that

“Tt’s amazing what you can write that will fill the gaps between other applications and make money” doing tt.

attached files, placing them in a di- rectory. Now, PCB-UUCP will reform split messages that contain files and place the correct combined file in a subdirectory.

¢ Inbound and outbound aliasing.

e Handles CONTROL articles.

e Bouncing of messages addressed to unknown users.

e OWK offline reader friendly — first reader joins large messages split by PCB- UUCP.

e Requires less available memory than v1.0

To some ex- tent the future is divided for Pereira and Merlin Systems. Plans include building a gate- way between UUCP and Novell’s MHS. Microsoft Mail UUCP and

6 © BBS CALLERS DIGEST

ee, ee ee cc:Mail UUCP packages could soon be in the works, as should many more e-mail gateways for various systems, Hari Kant, programmer, with Roy Pereira. including PCBoard. a eae > Sa Meanwhile, keep an eye [ a out for the next release from | the wizard and pleasant e- mailing. For more information on PCB-UUCP v 1.1, contact Merlin Systems at:

Merlin Systems, Inc.

PO Box 3043, Station C Ottawa, Ontario

K1Y 4J3 Canada 613-236-1138 613-236-1481 (Fax & BBS)

Internet: info@merlin-sys- tems.on.ca

UUCP: uunet!mersys!info

MHS: info @ merlin [cserve]

FidoNet: Info 1:163/509 ma he

The Major BBS 6.1, 2-user

The Major BBS 6.1, 8-user MBBS RIPscrip Add-on

MBBS Fax/Online Add-on MBBS Entertainment Collection Wildcat! Single Line BBS

Wildcat! 1-10 Line BBS

Online Blackjack/Hangman Doors New! Version 6.1 of The Major BBS DigiBoard 8 Port Comm. Card This latest version now supports “doors” to a second TBBS 2.2, 2-user machine, multi-lingual/multi-protocol support for easy

use of RIPscrip graphics, better messaging, and more! ; Call our BBS at 209-222-0227 for latest product The Major BBS is the only BBS that supports up to 256 information and to download our complete catalog!

simultaneous users on a single machine, direct X.25 and

Featuring... The Major BBS « Wildcat! * DigiBoard * CD-Discs LAN access, and plug-in DLL add-ons. You can expand Door Software * TBBS « Searchlight * and more! the system with online fax services, databases, order

= entry, Internet access, a C developer’s toolkit, and some

BR ES S Tec nh n O { Og ies of the hottest multi-player entertainment in the industry.

A new RIPscrip add-on includes an integrated RIPaint For orders/info call 209-222-0733 today! and a complete out-of-the-box graphics interface! CALL!

1444 E. Brown Ave., Fresno, CA 93704

AUGUST 1993 © 7

NEWCOMERS TO THE INTERNET

POLISH YOUR NETIQUETTE on USENET

BY MIKE ROBINSON

I admit it.

I'm a roller coaster mani- ac. There’s a certain thrill in going down a 150 foot incline, reaching speeds of 60 mph, and being yanked from near death at the last minute! Stand up, sit down, loop- ing, wooden or steel, I just plain like roller coasters! Unfortunately, I don’t have the time (or the money) to go gallivanting across the states to ride every coaster possible!

This is where reading USENET news comes in handy. One of the sev- eral hundred newsgroups is called ‘rec.roller-coaster’. Reading this news- group allows me to get the latest scoop in coaster news. Currently, there’s a debate going on about the best coaster in the world, and of course everybody has a different fa- vorite! Readers from across the coun- try tell of their experiences on each coaster, give ratings, update me of changes made over the winter to some of the tracks. I can also find out about special days when theme parks “soup up” the rides for coaster diehards like me!

Now, I don’t assume that everyone enjoys roller coasters as much as I do.

8 © BBS CALLERS DIGEST

But with around 3,000,000 USENET readers, there’s bound to be some- thing there that you'll enjoy. For in- stance, are you a CAD user? Try ‘comp.|si.cad’. Do you want to talk about abortion? Then ‘talk.abortion’ is just for you! One newsgroup I rec- ommend for everyone to read is ‘news.newusers.questions’. This news- group will tell you the ins and outs of USENET, such as how to post, where to post, and more. Its also an excellent place to ask any questions you may have as a new user.

Since the majority of you have been on a BBS before, you understand how

I can also find out about special days when theme parks “soup up” the rides for coaster diehards like me!

important it is for users to be polite when talking with others on the sys- tem. This can only be amplified when talking on the USENET. Most of us never have the opportunity to address

several million people at once. Let’s take an opportunity to brush up on our USENET “netiquette.”

1, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY. You never know who might be read- ing, like your boss, your children, your friends. Wouldn’t want to say some- thing that could get you fired, would you?

2. THINK BEFORE YOU POST. This cannot be overstated. It doesn’t make much sense to talk about your ’57 Chevy when you’re in ‘bionet gen- eral’ or anywhere else not pertaining to cars, for example. Unless, of course, you want to hold a serious dialogue about the various forms of fungus growing in your tirewell!

3. BE BRIEF. Remember that many megabytes of information is transmit- ted each day for the various groups, and someone is paying for it, so stick to the point.

4. BE GENERALLY POLITE. Remember that on the other end are people just like you. And people that aren’t just like you. So, just as you can’t run outside and scream profan- ities at the police and claim its your First Amendment Right, don’t do it here.

SIGNATURES

Finally, a note about signature files. You may or may not have the

——————————————E—— EEE OE

ability to create one to be attached to every post. I’ve seen many different Signature files. The best are under four lines long, and give the senders name and e-mail address. KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Of course, you could take the op- posite position on signature files. For example, make your signature file 30 or 40 lines long so that it will positively dwarf your 3 line post. Use ASCII char- acters to fill in any dead space, or make drawings. Leave as many ways to contact you as possible.

I mean, what if some- one wants to phone you or send you a letter? Finally, put in at least nine or ten of your fa- vorite one-liners. I say its not a message unless its got a great signature! If you follow these instruc- tions, in a matter of days you'll be on the kill file of several million people — what an nonor!

DON’T GET KILLED!

Which brings me to kill files. Depending on what software you use to read news, you might not have this capability. If you do, use the manual or online help to find out how to set one up for your sys- tem. Kill files can be great. For example, maybe you are sick and tired of hearing about company XYZ. Simply put that in your kill file, and any message with ‘XYZ’ in its subject line will not be shown. Or, maybe you don’t like the ramblings of ‘john.doe@nowhere. usa’. Put HIM in your kill file, and you won’t see any of his messages.

Last month I men- tioned how big USENET is. Well, I’ve done some digging around and found some more infor-

Most of us never have the opportunity to address several million people at once.

mation on exactly how big it really is. The following are two statistics for March 1993.

By Modem: 408-847-0665

Total articles posted: 696,516

Total Kbytes posted: 1,853,585.75

This translates into more than 1800 MEGABYTES of information posted throughout the USENET for March alone. Imagine this amount of information duplicated on literally thousands of USENET servers world- wide!

That concludes our two-month look into the USENET. Next month we'll return to the world of Internet. Until then, keep on posting! [mmm

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4

AUGUST 1993 « 9

UNCLE HANK’S SHAREWARE REVIEWS

LEGAL GUIDE, UTILITIES, AND

GLOSSARY

BY “UNCLE” HANK HURTEAU

BBS LEGAL GUIDE (BBSLAW)

By: Herb Kraft BBSLAW01.ZIP

I had just got finished reading about the FBI raids on a couple of BBS’s. I’m sure most of you have heard a little bit about these recent incidents and I won't go into any of the details here. However, they do have an effect on what we as Sysops need to know and be concerned with in keeping our BBS’s relatively safe from suffering the same fate. No one would enjoy watch- ing their BBS hardware and software walk out the door, not knowing if or when it will ever be returned.

Right off, I want to strongly point out that I in no way condone distri- bution of commercial programs. I really don’t have a problem with “Adult” material on a BBS (to a point), however, I don’t allow it on my BBS. But, that’s just a personal policy. However, a BBS of any size will have problems with pirated software and adult files from time to time. Even the most diligent Sysop might uninten- tionally miss the rare unwanted up- load. Luckily, most users will alert the Sysop of any file that may slip by. At least in my case the users know my feelings and are quick to let me know.

Anyways, as I was saying, shortly

10 ¢ BBS CALLERS DIGEST

after I read about the FBI raids, I re- ceived an evaluation copy of the BBS LEGAL GUIDE in the mail. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Home and Business Legal Guide. These same people have now created a package with the BBS Sysop in mind.

From the manual:

e “Will I get in trouble for having x- rated .GIFs available for download?

© Can I be sued for libel is some- one goes nuts in the flame room?

¢ Can I deduct losses I sustain run- ning my BBS?

e If someone posts a commercial program on my BBS will the FBI con- fiscate my equipment?”

.. features in BBS Legal Guide include Computer crime and BBS-specific laws for all 50 states.

As Sysops, we all have had similar questions come to mind. Where would we go for answers? We can’t really rely on rumors we see floating around, and for most of us, hiring an attorney is out of the question. This is

why the BBS Legal Guide can be in- valuable to any size BBS. It has been prepared by working Sysops and at- torneys and will always be kept up to date.

Some of the features in BBS Legal Guide include:

¢ Computer crime and BBS-spe- cific laws for all 50 states.

e Sample BBS screens and bul- letins that can be edited to reflect your own system.

e Complete manuals for co-sysops and employees.

e Sample forms and letters that you can also edit.

BBS Legal Guide is completely menu driven. However, all the files are in standard ASCII text so that they can be read, printed, or edited outside the program. While viewing a tutorial or sample form, you can jump to a notepad to jot down any thoughts or ideas and such that comes to mind. This notepad saves as an ASCII file that can also be printed. There is also a nice full featured editor within the program that can be used to edit any of the legal documents.

Registration for BBS Legal guide is $39 - $129, depending on the level of support you want. I urge you to take look at this well done program; it could prove to be most helpful.

Oh, by the way, the answers to the

ee

above questions: Again, from the documentation:

“The good news is that an invest- ment in time will protect you and your system. Yes, you can deduct losses sus- tained running a BBS — if you know the ropes. Yes, you can carry adult .GIFs. And you can have folks flame away at each other if they want to with- out trouble. There is a way to handle inadvertent postings of commercial software.”