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Text File | 1989-12-06 | 11.6 KB | 303 lines | [TEXT/QED1]

About AreaFix/RRH… [For notes on the latest version of AreaFix, please read the attached AreaFix News document. It will list changes which are not reflected in this main documentation. In case of disagreement between this document and AreaFix News, trust the latter.] Shamelessly modeled on a MSDOS program called AreaFix, this Tabby utility is designed to automate Echo distribution. With it, boards can remotely turn on and turn off Echoes they receive from Tabby/Red Ryder Host, and they can get listings of currently available Echoes. From the User’s Perspective Its operation is quite simple. You create a private NetMail message addressed to AreaFix at a valid node address. You can type AreaFix any way you want, as long as you don’t embed spaces or tabs or random letters in the name -- AreaFix, AREAfix, areafix and AREAFIX all work. Just spell it right. Send this message to an AreaFix-equipped board with which you share Echoes (it will work with Red Ryder Host, MSDOS and even Mansions [though Mansions wants you to address it to AFIX]). You and the node addressed must agree on a password. Put this password in the “Subject” field of the message, along with two optional switches: -L requests a text file listing and documenting Echo areas. This text file is prepared by the sysop, and offers illuminating descriptions of mysteries such as COMP.BINARIES.MAC. If the sysop is lazy and hasn’t written this text file, you’ll get nothing. -Q requests a list of currently available Echoes. This list includes all entries in the Tabby Areas.BBS file, except for the UNKNOWN section (not too much demand for Unidentified Echo Objects). If an Echo is already received by eight nodes -- Tabby’s maximum -- it will not be shown in this listing. (You can also get a listing of available Echoes by putting an asterisk [*] or a question mark on a single line in the body of the message -- I included this for Mansions compatibility). The body of the message consists of names of Echo areas. If a name appears by itself, AreaFix presumes it’s to be added to your distribution. If it’s preceded by a minus sign, AreaFix removes it from your distribution. If you absent-mindedly put a plus in front of the Echo name, no problem -- AreaFix ignores the plus sign and adds the area anyway. Here is the format of a sample message, along with some notes: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Msg #31514 in *Net Private* Created on 07/04/89 at 07:44:51 To: AREAFIX [Private], From: ERIK SELBERG Via address: 15/31 Subject: MooHaHa -Q -L -SPACE MACNOV RRH ------------------------------------------------------------------- The only entry in this message which is critical in terms of caps and lower case is the password -- it must exactly match the password you and the addressee agree on. MOOHAHA won’t be recognized. The rest -- switches, area names and the name AreaFix can be any case -- AreaFix will treat them all as if they were capitalized. With this message, Erik is requesting a text listing explaining available Echo sections [-L] and a listing of all active and available sections [-Q]. In addition, he wants to “turn on” the MACNOV and RRH Echoes, and “turn off” the SPACE Echo. AreaFix will send him back three messages. The first one is caused by the -L switch. It lists and explains the Echo sections, like so: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Msg #31515 in *Net Private* Created on 07/04/89 at 07:45:52 To: ERIK SELBERG [Private], From: AreaFix on 102/863 Via address: 102/863 Subject: Response to AreaFix Request TBLGPGEN General interest Echo carried by Southern California boards TBLGPHEL Help & Tips Echo carried by Southern California boards TBLGPBUY Buy & Sell Echo carried by Southern California boards ECHOMAC High-volume national Macintosh Echo from FidoNet ALTERMAC National Macintosh Echo via AlterNet MACDEV National Macintosh Developers Echo from FidoNet MACHYPE National HyperCard Echo from FidoNet MACUK Macintosh users in the United Kingdom TABBY Tabby Echo RRH Red Ryder Host Echo SCAMS Southern California Macintosh Sysops Echo SOCAL Southern California Fido Sysops Echo MACCOMM Macintosh Communications Echo MUSIC National Music Echo WRITING National Echo for Writers MACFSALE National Macintosh For Sale Echo U_MACSRC UseNet Macintosh Source U_MACSYS UseNet Macintosh System U_MACDIG UseNet MacDigest U_MACHYP UseNet HyperCard U_MACPRG UseNet Macintosh Programmers MACNOV Macintosh Novice Programmers COMP.BINARIES.MAC UseNet BinHex file exchange MACFILES Macintosh File Exchange Echo chaired by Ed Edell SPACE National Space Echo --- AreaFix/RRH Version 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The econd one, caused by the -Q switch, looks like this: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Msg #31516 in *Net Private* Created on 07/04/89 at 07:46:53 To: ERIK SELBERG [Private], From: AreaFix on 102/863 Via address: 102/863 Subject: Response to AreaFix Request The following is a list of Echoes currently available on this board: TBLGPGEN TBLGPHEL TBLGPBUY ECHOMAC ALTERMAC MACDEV MACHYPE MAC TABBY RRH SCAMS SOCAL MACCOMM MUSIC WRITING MACFSALE U_MACSRC U_MACSYS U_MACDIG U_MACHYP U_MACPRG MACNOV SPACE --- AreaFix/RRH Version 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The third one, caused by the changes requested in the text of the message, looks like this: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Msg #31517 in *Net Private* Created on 07/04/89 at 07:47:54 To: ERIK SELBERG [Private], From: AreaFix on 102/863 Via address: 102/863 Subject: Response to AreaFix Request You are currently sharing the following Echoes with this board (an asterisk indicates that you are the feed): * ALTERMAC U_MACSRC U_MACSYS U_MACDIG U_MACHYP MACNOV RRH At your request, the following Echo feeds were discontinued: SPACE At your request, the following Echo feeds were added: MACNOV RRH --- AreaFix/RRH Version 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: You do not need to use both, or either of the two “Subject” switches. Your password is fine all by itself. If you request discontinuing an Echo for which you are the source (first listing in a line of nodes in the Areas.bbs file), the request will be ignored -- take it up directly with the sysop. If you want to get a list of Echoes which you are now receiving from a remote BBS, just request that it add an Echo which you are already getting. This will leave your status unchanged, but will send you a message summarizing your current feeds. AreaFix is a bit loose in its report format. If you request adding an Echo which you already receive, AreaFix will dutifully claim to have added the Echo in its message back to you. In fact, it doesn’t change the Areas.bbs distribution a bit if you ask for something you’re already getting. I’ve tried to make AreaFix fairly flexible in terms of reading message text. If it can’t match a line against an existing section, it ignores the line. In comparing the lines of the message against entries in the Areas.BBS file, every message line is stripped of leading and following spaces and tabs, and leading plus and minus signs, which gives AreaFix compatibility with other AreaFix schemes, including that of Mansions. For additional Mansions compatibility, AreaFix also recognizes an asterisk alone on a message text line as synonymous with the -Q switch. From the Sysop’s Perspective You need to use an up-to-date Generic Import program along with AreaFix. Any version of TImport higher than 1.32 will work (1.32 was supposed to work, but had a small problem). Configure AreaFix with two items of information: the name of your BBS application (this will probably never be used, but please do fill it in) and a toggle: Message to Sysop. If this is enabled, AreaFix will send you a message anytime it makes a change to the Areas.BBS file. If you don’t select this option, AreaFix will do its work quietly. Tell the Import program that AreaFix is to be used as the AreaFix application (TImport has a configuration dialog for this) and put a copy of AreaFix at the same level as TabbyNet and her many friends -- including the Import and Export utilities. YOU DO NOT NEED TO ENTER AREAFIX AS A NETMAIL EVENT! TImport or Import will automatically launch AreaFix when they spot a message with an AreaFix address. TImport will also alter the launch.next file so that AreaFix returns to TImport when it’s done, so TImport can process any messages left by AreaFix in the Generic Import file. Passwords for AreaFix can be created in two ways: <1> You can use Tabby Maint to set up passwords for any nodes which you will allow to use AreaFix. Tabby 2.0 limits these passwords to 6 characters or less in length. If you use Tabby Maint, then the password file, which is called Password, is operative on all communications with that other board. <2> You can use a text editor to create a passwords list. The format for a password file is identical to the Tabby Password format: NodeID <tab> Password <return> NodeID <tab> Password <return> and so on (no spaces, just tabs separating the NodeID from the password, and a carriage return after every line). An actual file looks like this: 107/563 KingEdward 102/823 DaddyGee If you want to use passwords longer than 6 characters, set up a text file as indicated in Technique <2> and save it in the Tabby folder under the name AreaPass (or you can save a copy of your Password file as AreaPass, then lengthen the actual passwords). AreaFix looks for this file *before* it tries to use the Password file, and uses the contents of AreaPass in preference to the Tabby Password file. If you use Tabby Maint to set up passwords for any nodes which you will allow to use AreaFix, both you and the other node agree on a password, and both of you enter the password to use in all communications with the other node. AreaFix uses the Tabby Password file to get this information (unless there is a AreaPass file, as described in the previous paragraph). If an AreaFix message is sent by a board without a password, AreaFix will notify the board sysop to get a password. If you want to be a good, industrious sysop, create a text file called AreaFix.List in your Tabby folder. In it, describe the Echo areas on your board. This is the information which will be sent when someone uses the -L option in AreaFix. If you don’t have such a file, no list will be sent. As I mentioned earlier in the documentation, if you get a request discontinuing an Echo from the source for that Echo (the first listing in the Areas.bbs file), the request will be ignored -- that’s something that should be handled by humans, not automatons. Many thanks to Mike Lininger, who supplied me with AreaFix documentation from the MSDOS world, to Erik Selberg, who has been over-the-top helpful in the realm of Pascal programming, and to Bruce Gerson, who has made some excellent suggestions. AreaFix/RRH was written in LightSpeed Pascal. AreaFix/RRH is © 1989 by Pete Johnson and all rights are, as they say, reserved. It is free for non-commercial distribution. Pete Johnson July 20, 1989 (As this document is written, my board is down due to CPU and hard disk failure. I’m not sure when it will be back up. In the meantime, you can reach me on GEnie as PETERJ, or send messages to me in care of The Bear's Lair, Fido node 102/823. I keep in touch with the RRH and Tabby Echoes via The Bear's Lair, so you can also reach me in those Echoes.)