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-
- ---------------------------
- FNORDADEL 1.32 DISTRIBUTION
- ---------------------------
-
- This, then, is Fnordadel. It's for running bulletin board systems. It is
- of the Citadel flavour; in fact, it's linearly descended from the original
- Citadel. It's for the Atari ST/TT series of computers; minimum setup is a
- 512K ST with one disk drive, but more of both RAM and disk space always helps.
- It, like all Citadels, excels at running conversation BBSes, though there is
- also substantial support for file transfers. It networks (using standard
- Citadel networking). It's easy to run (self-maintaining). And, best of all,
- it's FREE.
-
- If the above paragraph makes you certain that Fnordadel isn't what you
- want, then ciao! Otherwise, read on.
-
-
- How the distributions work
- --------------------------
-
- Fnordadel comes in two archives. The one you got this README from is the
- main binaries archive, which contains everything you need to run Fnordadel.
- It is named `fnXXXbin.zoo', where XXX represents the version number such as
- `132' for version 1.32. The other archive is `fnXXXman.zoo', which contains
- the ASCII version of the Reference Manual. It is quite large, which is why
- it is packaged separately, but in our humble opinion it is quite worth
- getting. Each archive contains a MANIFEST listing all files in the archive.
-
-
- What to do with this archive
- ----------------------------
-
- The archive is divided into subdirectories to make things manageable. Have
- a look at the files ending in `.doc' for all sorts of neat information. We
- recommend, especially if you are new to Fnordadel, that you read the first
- couple of chapters of the Manual and skim over the rest.
-
- For a quick-start guide to bringing up your system, check out the Fifteen
- Minute Guide to Fnordadel, in the Reference Manual. For notes on converting
- to Fnordadel from STadel or moving up from older Fnordadel versions, see
- the notes in the `conv' directory.
-
- At the bare minimum, take citadel.tos, configur.tos and ctdlcnfg.doc.
- Then edit ctdlcnfg.doc (saving it as ctdlcnfg.sys), run configur, and then
- run citadel -- and you're off. You'll also want to take the help files from
- the `help' directory, unless you like having no online help of any kind.
-
-
- AN IMPORTANT NOTE
- -----------------
-
- Fnordadel seems to trigger the TOS 40-folder bug by doing a lot of memory
- reallocation stuff; we've only seen this when using configur.tos for the
- first time, but better to be safe than sorry: PLEASE use foldr100.prg in your
- AUTO folder (or some other OS-pool increaser program) to avoid possibly
- serious glitches. This applies even if you don't have a hard disk; if you
- DO have a hard disk, you should be using foldrnnn.prg in any case. If you
- don't have foldrnnn.prg, you can get it absolutely everywhere, including
- secret or RT if you're stuck.
-
-
- Support
- -------
-
- As you'll find out when you read the file 'COPYING', Fnordadel is
- completely free and public domain. Since we don't sell this, we are under no
- obligation to provide support; nevertheless, we DO provide ample amounts of
- support to polite people. Questions, problems, bug reports, glowing praise
- and great stacks of unsolicited cash may be sent to:
-
- Adrian Ashley (elim @ secret) (BBS: (403) 425 1779)
- Royce Howland (Mr. Neutron @ RT) (BBS: (403) 455 2709)
-
- There is a networked room called FnordTech devoted to Fnordadel support.
- See the Support section (Appendix A) of the Reference Manual for more info
- on this and other neat things.
-
-
- Fnordadel source code
- ---------------------
-
- There is a third archive called `fnXXXsrc.zoo', which is a huge thing
- containing the full source code to all Fnordadel programs and the associated
- sources for the documentation, including the Reference Manual. If you're
- going to hack on Fnordadel, we'd REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciate it if you'd
- let us know so we can coordinate things. We would like to avoid having
- umpteen slightly different Fnordadel derivatives floating around, so please
- keep with the spirit of sharing...
-
-
- Getting a formatted manual
- --------------------------
-
- The Reference Manual is produced using the GNU Texinfo system, which is a
- set of macros for the TeX typesetter. We have hacked them up to allow us to
- produce an ASCII version of the manual suitable for printing on a line printer
- or viewing on the screen, AND a really nice typeset version with fancy fonts
- and all that, suitable for printing on a laser printer or viewing on a
- graphics workstation. We distribute only the ASCII version, but we make
- available the sources to the manual (in the sources archive, see the previous
- section), so if you have a working TeX installation you can generate your
- own nicely printed copy. We make available the TeX .DVI file (check RT or
- secret) so you can print it if you have only facitilies for printing DVI
- files. Or we can arrange to ship you a printed copy --- leave us some mail.
-
-
- Drop us a line
- --------------
-
- When you get your Fnordadel system up and running, drop us a line by
- calling up one of our systems or by sending us mail via some other route.
- We like to keep tabs on who's running this thing....
-
- --Adrian Ashley
- Royce Howland
-
- September, 1991
-