After you have succeeded in opening a BBS, you should see the windows "Messages from ..." and "Areas". An "area", also known as an "echo" on FidoNet, is an electronic conference on a certain topic, which is usually apparent from the name. Messages written in an area should have something to do with the area’s topic. Many areas on FidoNet have "rules", which are posted from time to time, about what is "on-topic" for the area.
The message window is divided into two sections:
the header: which lists the subject, author and addresse of each message. Optionally (see "Global Parameters") "faces" Icons and "Thread" buttons may be shown.
the text of the message displays the contents of the message.
Changing font, text size etc.:
- first the settings for an area are used in which the message is part of. Change these settings permantly within a single dialog by choosing "Parameters" from menu "Areas".
- short time changes for the actual message can be done via the "Message" menu: choose "Font", "Size", "Filter" or "Font Macros". If you go to another message the area settings will be used again.
The window "Areas" displays four columns, giving the area name, the total number of messages in the area, the number of unread messages in the area, and the number of messages addressed to you. The totals are displayed at the bottom of the window.
 
Navigating the Messages
Next message/previous message: click on the buttons to the right of "Msg." in the Message window, or press the left and right arrow keys, or use the "n" and "p" keys.
Next unread message: double-click on the number of unread messages in the "Areas" window. You can also press option-right-arrow.
Next message for you: double-click in the number of messages addressed to you in the "Areas" window.
Different message area: when you have read all the messages in an area, advancing to the next message will automatically take you into the next area. You can also select an area directly by double-clicking in the area name in the "Areas" window. You can also click on one of the numbers displayed on a line with the area name - Alice will take you to the corresponding message. (E.g., the first unread message in the chosen area.)
Summary of all messages in an area: choose the command "Summary…" from the "Windows" menu. Alice will display a window that lists the subjects, authors and addressees of all messages in the current area. The message that was displayed in the message window is hilighted. Unread messages are marked with a bullet.
 
To read a particular message shown in the summary, double-click on it (or press the return or enter key while it is highlighted) and Alice will display it in the Message window.
If you have a mailbag from your BBS that you’d like to read, go ahead now and take Alice for a spin. The next section will explain how to write your own messages.
Writing Messages
To write a new message: Choose the command "Enter New Message" from the "Messages" menu. Alice will open a new window for your message and fill out the header for you. If you prefer an empty header, select "Empty Messagehead" in "Global Parameters" (see "Menus and Dialog Boxes:Global Parameters").
The message will be initially addressed to the addressee of the current message, but you will probably want to address the message to somebody else, or perhaps to "All". You also may want to change the "Subject".
To answer the current message: choose the command "Answer" from the "Messages" menu. Alice will open a new window as above, but the message is addressed to the author of the current message, and the current message is "quoted" as the default message text.
Multiple Answers: usually you will answer once to a message. If you use "Answer", Alice opens your answer. To enter a second answer (to the same message) press the "option"-Key while You choose "Answer". This new answer can not be opened by double-clicking the little pen and it will not be stored as part of a thread.
The current message is the message displayed in the Message window, unless the Summary window is selected, in which case the current message is the message that is hilighted in the Summary window..
You can define the style of the quoted text by changing the "Quote Rules" (see "Menus and Dialog Boxes:Quote Rules").
The Answer Window
The Answer window has a header similar to that of the message window, except that you can edit the various fields. At the bottom of the Answer window is the Origin line. You can use the origin line to tell the world about your location, your philosophy or your sense of humor. If you need ideas, check out the origin lines of your favorite pundits on your favorite echo. Some restrictions apply to origin lines on systems using QWK rather than XRS. (More on that later.) Netmail messages have no origin line.
 
Changing the area: use the "Area" popup menu in the header of the message. If you are answering an existing message, the menu only shows the original area and the special "netmail" area. (You can hold down the option key to get a list of all areas in the menu.) If you are writing a new message, the popup menu will always show all the areas.
Messages that you write via netmail are private and can only be read by the recipient, so you should use netmail to write messages that aren’t of general interest. (Caveat emptor: while netmail messages are private, Fidonet is not a secure channel, can be rather easily intercepted, and is subject to occasional system failures that might conceivably make your netmail messages public. Truly confidential messages should not be sent through Fidonet unless they are also encrypted, which is may not be allowed by some systems. Alice does not support encryption of netmail messages.)
Addressing (BlueWave, T2, XRS): if you are writing a netmail message, you need to enter the addressee’s Fidonet address in the fields provided. Alice cannot verify the address you give, so make sure that you use the correct address, or your message may disappear into the great bit-bucket in the sky.
Using the Addressbook: click on the "To:"-Button or choose "Addressbook" from the "Windows" menu to open the addressbook. You can simply fetch an address from it. For more information see the chapter "Menus and Dialog Boxes:Addressbook".
Origin: space for your origin line (see above). If your origin line is longer than the allowed maximum, Alice will ask you to shorten it when you save the message.
Saving the message: choose the "Save" command from the "File" menu, or close the message window and click on the "Save" button in the dialog box.
Opening messages you have written: choose the "Open" command from the "File" menu. Alice will display a list of all messages you have written in your current Alice session. To open a message, double-click on it or select it and click the "Open" button.
If you write an answer to an existing message, that message will be displayed with a "pencil" icon in the Message and Summary windows. Double-clicking on the pencil icon will open your reply.
 
Deleting a message you have written: to delete a message, choose the "Open" command from the "File" menu, which displays a list of all messages you have written in your current Alice session. Select the message you want to delete, such as the angry "flame" you wrote half an hour ago, and click on the "Delete" button. Take care, deleted messages are gone for good!
If a message is displayed in the list with a "window" icon next to it, it is currently open in an Answer window. Before you can delete it, you have to close its window first.
Closing a BBS
To close a BBS, close its Message window. Alice will "pack" all the messages you have written into a file that you can upload to the BBS on your next call.
More on Reading and Writing
Reading Messages
Thread Buttons
A "thread" is a sequence of messages consisting of one original message and any number of replies, replies to replies etc. You can use the thread buttons in the Message window to read all the messages of a thread in order. The thread buttons are only shown if you have selected the extended message header in the Global Parameters.
 
Thread-start "•": if it is enabled, this button will take you to the first message in a thread. You can also press control-hyphen ('-') instead.
Thread-zurück "<-": if enabled, takes you to the previous message in the current thread. You can also press control-left-arrow.
Thread-vor "->": if enabled, takes you to the next message in the current thread. You can also press control-right-arrow.
Reading Messages Efficiently
The quick start in the second chapter gives an introduction to reading messages. You can save time and effort if you take advantage of Alice’s more advanced features. The most important messages are those addressed to you, so you can read them first by double-clicking on the corresponding numbers in the Areas window. (See the quick start chapter for details.)
Then you can read the threads, so you can follow one subject completely before starting on the next. Go to the first unread message, read it, then go to the next message in the thread until you have reached the end of the thread. (I.e., until the "next message in thread" button is dimmed.) Then return to the next first unread message in the area, and follow its thread to the end. This will let you read all threads in order without seeing any message twice.
Of course, you may prefer to read the messages in a different order – the choice is yours.
"Read" vs. "unread" messages: Alice considers a message to have been read if the text was displayed in the window and the cursor blinked at least once. The idea is that you can’t have read a message that flashed by any faster. Thus if you skim through the messages very quickly, looking only at the header, they will still be considered "unread".
Writing Messages
Quoting
When you "reply to" or "answer" a message, Alice automatically "quotes" the text of the original message for you. You can also quote from other messages, or include quoted text in a new message. You can select text in the message window and copy it to the clipboard in the normal way, or you can use the special commands "Quote&Copy" or "Quote&Paste" from the Edit menu. Quote&Copy is the same as Quote, except that the selected text is quoted just as if you were replying to it. Quote & Paste quotes the text in the clipboard and then pastes it. You can also copy the various fields in the header and paste them into the corresponding fields of your message. To select a field in the header, just press the tab key until the desired field is selected.
Electronic Etiquette
Fidonet is an informal network, but there still are rules of conduct and etiquette that you should respect. Some of these rules apply only to Fidonet, others apply just as well to non-networked BBSs.
- Don’t use "hi-bit" characters, that is, characters whose numeric code is above 127, especially special characters such as accented letters. These character codes are used for different characters on different systems, so somebody using a PC compatible or an Amiga might not be able to read your messages.
If you must use those characters - make sure you use the right "CharSet"!
- Respect the local language. Some areas accept all languages, others request that you use only one or two. English is usually acceptable.
- Quote as little as possible, but as much as necessary. Too much irrelevant quoted text is just as irritating as a message where nobody knows what you’re talking about because you failed to quote anything.
- Don’t use Fidonet for commercial purposes. Commercial advertisements are forbidden in most areas, and will get you in trouble with your sysop and your sysop in trouble with the High Ones.
- Don’t write private messages in public areas – use netmail. Nobody wants to pay to see you say hello to your uncle Bob.
- Don’t write encrypted messages. This is forbidden under most circumstances and may also cause technical problems.
- Avoid the special strings "* Origin:", "SEEN-BY:" and "---", particularly at the start of a line. These strings are used for special purposes and may confuse your BBS’s Fidonet programs if used improperly. If you quote these strings, change a character, as in "$ Origin" or "$EEN-BY".
