The Devil's Doorknob BBS Capture (1996-2003)/devilsdoorknobbbscapture1996-2003.iso/MYBBS.ZIP/WINDOWS/DESKTOP/MYBBS/README.424

Text File | 1995-05-06 | 29KB | 580 lines

This file lists only the differences between the current version of WWIV
and previous releases.  Please also read through the 'read.me' file, as
it contains additional information.

/****************************************************************************/

WWIV 4.24:

  1) Swapping spawn implemented. (Code courtesy of TurboPower Software,
     distributed in .OBJ/.LIB format, with permission.)
  2) Sound Definition Files supported. (Uses local PC speaker to read/play
     alterable tunes.
  3) Various bug fixes as usual.
  4) Conferencing improved (confedit).
  5) N-Scanning dirs is now done automatically (if set in xfer defaults) only
     after the first n-scan - no more redundant file n-scans after msgbase
     n-scan.
  6) WWIV.INI file support added. See docs for available settings and details.
  7) The internal editor will now allow you to backspace to the previous line.
  8) You can now have up to 16,000 posts on a sub (net34+ required for netted
     subs).
  9) Max files per dir can be 999 now, vs 499 previously.
 10) [ and ] will scroll through dirs/subs/chains/gfilesec while editing them.
 11) The instance number now shows in the sysoplog.
 12) Newuser user number assignment much more robust.
 13) 115200 baud rate supported everywhere.
 14) 'F' at the scan prompt will search for text in a post (or title).
 15) 'M' from the mail read prompt will send email to someone else,
     but allow you to quote from the current email.
 16) Not-yet-seen email is marked with '*' in the email one-line listing.
 17) Users can disable inter-instance messages in the defaults section.
 18) The /V main-menu command will allow you to quickly validate all
     not-yet-validated net posts on your system.
 19) You can set CD-ROM xfer directories, or conferences, to be unavailable
     to users.  (The sysop will still have access to them.)  This would be
     useful if you have a single CD-ROM drive, but sometimes put different
     CD-ROMs into it.
 20) With CHAIN_REG enabled, you can set a minimum and maximum age for chains.
 21) RIP is now supported.
 21) QWK is now supported internally (with a hook for external QWK programs).
 22) The ability to abort the hangup-after-download.
 23) //PACK from main menu will pack storage-type-2 message subs.
 24) Support for IRQs from 8-15.  net35 is required for callouts/in on
     instances with high valued IRQs.

/****************************************************************************/

WWIV v4.23:

 1) All known bugs fixed.
 2) PW not showing in INIT startup.
 3) Up to 250 chars for email name (good for gateway routing).
 4) //UPLOADFILE reads extended descriptions also.
 5) NET31 and earlier bug in //BOARDEDIT not allowing net subs to be added
 6) Color changes in [PAUSE] now supported.
 7) Moving file optionally resets daten for nscan searches.
 8) by/re/internal editor commands (/es, ...) now in bbs.str
 9) Multiple languages supported.
10) Multiple fast local logons for sysops (with <space>num).
11) Remote autovalidation (1,2..0 keys act as AltF1-AltF10 would) when in
      uedit.
12) 255 SL protection from Alt-F keys and remote autovalidation.
13) Better pending display. Shows all network connections rather than just
      those with bytes waiting. Also shows to minute accuracy rather than
      hour accuracy.
14) Autodialing for network callouts. Can specify number of retries.
      Abortable with ESC key. Key is '.' at wfc for autodialing, '/'
      does just one try as usual.
15) Can specify minimum k before network callout. One-day override: if an
      entire 24 hours goes by and the minimum k is not reached, then the
      BBS will start calling again as if there were no minimum k defined.
      NET33 required (so that a re-analysis doesn't erase the |<num> entry).
16) Support for colors 8 and 9 in messages, defaults, etc.
17) Topscreen/F1 color setting changed to white on blue (and uses a #define
      for easy alteration). editline color also #define'd in CONIO.C for
      easy customization.
18) F1 editor edits more fields, including banktime, ass_pts, msgs posted,
      upload k, etc. 60-char notes now handled properly.
19) Local posts and network posts tracked separately. Topscreen shows no. of
      local posts for the day.
20) Randomized ANSI logon screens (WELCOME.0, .1, etc). Maximum of 1000
      random screens, but no hard-coded maximum; code adjusts to the
      number automatically.
21) Control-Y toggles pause_on_screen on/off.
22) Form letters are now FILENAME.FRM or FORM####.MSG, allowing eight
      characters for more mnemonically easy form letter names. Also shows all
      available (*.frm) form letters.
23) LASTON.TXT/USER.LOG enhanced.
24) Funky colors don't look quite so funky.
25) Newuser colors are brown and cyan. No more flashing red.
26) [ and ] move down/up dirs subs (as well as +/- and </>).
27) Subname shown at read prompt.
28) Embedded colors in gfile/dir/sub/chain descriptions won't weird out
      the display in subedit/diredit, etc.
29) Some "express" commands for the longer // sysop commands (//de for
      diredit, //be for boardedit, //ce for chainedit, //ge for gfileedit,
      //ue for uedit, //cu for chuser). The normal longer commands work
      the same as always.
30) Internal timebank for allowing users to store time for later use.
31) //resetf (reset_files()) now works at wfc with the '=' key.
32) FILE_IDZ.DIZ/DESC.SDI in archives supported for file descriptions.
33) Multiple-sysop feedback, shows sysops/cosysops with user numbers from
      1 to 9 at the feedback prompt. If only 1 sysop/cosysop found, the BBS
      works as normal (no menu selection).
34) User data written to disk for spawns, read back in upon return, for
      programs that might alter the online user's userrec data.
35) //BOARDEDIT, when editing the description, now allows deleting the
      sub description.
36) Several different dropfiles now created when CHAIN.TXT created, including
      DORINFO1.DEF, PCBOARD.SYS, DOOR.SYS, and CALLINFO.BBS.
37) All declared-but-unused vars deleted from the code.
38) International character support (Ñ, ñ, É, etc).
39) Network dialouts show BBS name and location of board being called.
40) Logon info enhanced a bit.
41) Msg/mail headers split up so that location data is shown on a separate
      line (prevents screen overrun).
42) Local windows (done with makewindow()) now "shadowized".
43) F10 (chat) key allows selecting name-string to "chat as". Also takes
      user number.
44) For 80-column people, the sub title-scan shows who posted each message,
      as well as the title itself of course.
45) editline(), etc. now use "unsigned char", thus allowing upper ASCII chars
      for user notes, "chat as" strings, etc.
46) Newuser event now allows external ASV/CBV programs to be plugged in, and
      if these change the SL/ARs, etc. this is automatically accounted for
      upon return to WWIV.
47) Support for Multiple Instances
48) Support for Multiple languages
49) File Tagging
50) Conferencing
51) Auto-Sysop Validation
52) Callback Verification (registered sysops only)
53) Additional (optional) files for use like welcome and logoff.  The
    new ones that will be printed if they exist include: CHAINS,
    DEFAULTS, GFILES, XFER, DOWNLOAD, and UPLOAD.  These may have
    an ANS, MSG, or B&W extension.
54) Conferencing allows sysop to include or exclude all subs/dirs with
    a single command.
55) User configuration of Q-scan and N-scan improved via conferencing
56) User toggle in defaults to use (not use) conferencing.
57) WWIV reg number requirement added to conferencing.  This helps
    for those conferences and/or subs where registration is required.
58) Enhanced extract abilities.  Old method of extract is still
    usable if OPT_OLD_EXTRACT is #define'd.
59) Can add net subscribers to subs from mail read prompt.
60) Callers are compensated for time spent posting.
61) Subs and dirs are now conferenced.  User can turn it on/off in
    DEFAULTS.
62) Limited multi-instance chat and messaging ability.
63) A fast binary search for files when someone uploads is available.
64) Chains are definable as multi-line capable or not.
65) Extra chain ability to show who sponsored chain (#defineable).
66) The chat sound is now changeable with a #define.
67) SSMs on mail-delete say which network now.
68) Sysop-selectable #defines moved to bottom of VARS.H for ease
    of location and use.
69) Mail-list shows originating address >and< title
70) Backgrave (') may now be used in menus.
71) Simple auto-sysop validation (#defineable).  Use the ALT F10
    key settings and gives exemption of 9.  Prints optional
    ASV.ANS/MSG file.
72) Hop command added to main menu and transfer menu to allow
    "hopping" from one sub or dir to another with ease when you
    know the name or part of it but not the number.






/****************************************************************************/

WWIV v4.22:

There is a new userrec format in v4.22.  If you are using a standard userrec
format (32 or 64 sub format), the INIT program will convert your userlist from
the old to new format.  Just run INIT, and it will detect if you have a
standard v4.21a userrec.  If you do, it will ask if you want to convert it now.

NOTE: you MUST convert your userrec to the new format before running the v4.22
BBS.EXE/BBS.COM program.

If you have a nonstandard userrec, you'll need to modify the CONVERT.C program
(included with the source code distribution) to convert over any non-standard
fields in your userrec.  Then, compile and run it ("BCC -ml convert.c",
"convert").  You'll have to copy your old userrec structure into the CONVERT.C
file (calling it 'olduserrec'), then modify the c_old_to_new() function to copy
over your non-standard fields into the new userrec structure.  Note that the
new userrec structure has just about all add-in userrec fields that other
people have been using.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL FIELDS ARE USED IN THE
BBS.

In all cases, your old userlist will be saved as "USER.OLD".  You can safely
delete this after you are sure that v4.22 is working correctly.  Under v4.22,
the userrec is 1k long (1024 bytes), and holds all user-related info.
Additionally, quickscan/newscan pointers are stored in a separate file,
"USER.QSC".

You can now have up to 999 subboards and 999 directories.  The more you allow,
of course, the more memory will be required.  Use INIT to change the max number
of subs/dirs allowed.  Both number of subs and number of dirs will be rounded
up to the next 32 boundary (that is, allowable values are 32, 64, 96, 128,
etc).  You do not have to use all subs/dirs you have allowed, but for optimal
performance, set the number of subs and dirs to the lowest value that allows
you to have the subs/dirs you want.  If you later decide you want more, go into
INIT, and bump up the max.  DON'T just set them to 999 because you think you
may want to use that many some day - you can always increase the number later.


You can now have the BBS prompt users for their address, by toggling "Extended
user info" in INIT section 2.  Note that this will require all your current
users to enter the additional info when they first log on again (in addition to
having new users enter the info).

All textual strings have been removed from the BBS.  They are now stored in two
(non-text) files in the gfiles directory: BBS.STR and SYSOPLOG.STR.  "BBS.STR"
contains all user-visible strings, and "SYSOPLOG.STR" contains all
sysop-only-visible strings.  The reason for having two different files is to
prepare for WWIV v4.23, which will have multiple language support (where you'd
want the sysoplog messages to all be in the sysop's language, while
user-visible strings change depending upon the user's language).  Note that you
need the ESM program (External Strings Manager) to update the .STR files.  DO
NOT try to edit them any other way.  Also please note that "BBS.STR" is
distributed in the archive as "ENGLISH.STR", again, to prepare for
multi-lingual support.  A final note on the .STR files - the "SYSOPLOG.STR"
file contains strings with %'s in them - %s, %d, etc.  So, be VERY careful when
modifying those, and don't change the positions of the %'s, unless you know
what you're doing.

You can now override internal protocols (xmodem, xmodem-crc, ymodem).  This
will allow you to use dsz.com to transfer using those protocols, if you want.
Be aware, however, that if you override any internal protocols, you'll have
about 3k less memory available in the BBS.  You can override any or all
protocols, in any or all directions (that is, use internal xmodem send, but
external xmodem receive).  INIT will only allow you to enter protocol strings
in the allowed places (no xmodem batch upload, for example).

Users can now select protocols by the first character of the protocol
(excepting Ascii transfers and xmodem (non-crc)).  This will work
automatically, you don't need to do anything.  But, note that if you have two
protocols that begin with the same character, only the first one can be
selected by character.

//BOARDEDIT now manages additional information for you, such as the host system
#, whether a sub you host is auto-requestable, and whether the sub is
automatically reported for SUBS.LST updates.  This additional info is stored in
the "SUBS.XTR" file in your data directory, but DO NOT MODIFY THAT FILE
DIRECTLY.  Use //BOARDEDIT all the time.  If you're using net31 or earlier,
you'll notice that your nnall.net, allow.net, and subs.pub files will
automatically be updated for you.  With net32 or later, the files will be
deleted, as all the info is now in the SUBS.XTR FILE.

You can now gate subboards among networks your system is a member of.  This is
done in //BOARDEDIT, simply by entering net info for multiple networks.  In
order to support sub gating, you need to be using net32 or later.  Do not try
listing different sub types in the same network, as it probably won't work.
Gating DOES work with net-validation.  You can gate subs as either the host or
as a subscriber system, but please do not gate subs unless you really have a
good reason, and know what you're doing.

You can now net subboards by sub name (instead of just sub type).  A sub name
is 1-7 chars of upper-case letters and numbers, and doesn't start with a
number.  Note that in order to use sub-by-name, the host AND all subscribers
need to be using v4.22 (or later) AND net32 (or later).  Other than that,
subs-by-name works the same as subs-by-type.

If you connect to the same system number in multiple networks, you can now
force a callout to either one (you are prompted to select which one).

BBS macros (stored in DATA\MACROS.TXT) can now be used for "normal" macros, in
addition to DOS macros.  Simply start the command with an '@', and the rest of
the line is the macro substitution ("{" is converted to a carriage return).
So, for example, if you have currently

e qedit wwivnet\n1701.net

(to run qedit to edit a net file), you can add in

t @e1@3{Here is today's update:{

so when you hit alt-t in the BBS, it will send email to 1@3, with the title
"Here is today's update:", and put you into the editor.

(Note also that DOS macros now work from WFC, in addition to while logged on.)

There is now an external hangup handler, so fullscreen editors (and other
external programs) can cleanup gracefully when users hang up.

You can now (correctly) forward mail between networks.  If you're using net32
or later, if the person you forward the email to auto-replies, the reply will
correctly go back to the original person who sent the email.

From the mail or post read prompt, you can now extract the message to ANY
directory (not just the gfiles directory).  It will default to the gfiles
directory, but you can simply specify a different directory, such as ".\file"
to put it in the main BBS directory.

You can now specify /R<min> to limit the amount of time a user is online.  You
would only use this if you are running WWIV from a front-end mail program, or
something similar.  /R5 would limit the user to 5 minutes inside the BBS.

If you have 'Notify user of DL' set in INIT, it will now send the notification
only if it is the same user that uploaded the file.  That is, if user #2
uploads a file, you delete user #2, someone loggs on new as #2, then someone
downloads the file that the old #2 uploaded, the new #2 won't get an indication
of the download.  (Technically, it will only send the notification if the
"firston" time for the user is before the time of the upload.)



/****************************************************************************/

WWIV v4.21a:

The new address for WWIV registrations is:

WWIV Software Services
PO Box 720455
McAllen, TX  78504-0455

As usual, some bugs here and there (such as the mail forwarding bug in
v4.21) have been fixed.

Lists CPS rate in sysoplog for batch transfers when CPS rate is known.

Has 64 sub "mod" built in.  If you initially set up the BBS with v4.21a,
it will default to the 64 sub configuration.  If your system was set up
with 32 subs only (and you have NOT modified your userrec), then INIT
option U will allow you to easily switch to the 64 sub configuration.

Multiple WWIVnet-type networks are now supported, if you are running
net31 or higher.  Init option N allows you to add/delete networks you
are in.  Each network has its own directory.  The network directory
contains the following files that used to be in the DATA directory:
*.net, bbslist.*, connect.*, bbsdata.*, subs.lst, subs.1, subs.2, etc.
Also, *.net from the GFILES directory (for auto-sub-request responses)
should be in your network directory(s).

Message quoting has been partially implemented.  The message being
responded to is stored to 'quotes.txt', and an 'indented' version (with
"> " at the beginning of each line) is stored in quotes.ind.  I believe
the next version of WWIVedit will handle these files.

The BBS will now shrink when running programs listed in the remotes.dat
file.

The forward mail option in the default section now just takes a single
string input - the same as if you were specifying a person to send email
to, instead of the yes/no, input system # and user # prompts that were
there before.

The BBS now supports the fedit.inf and editor.inf/result.ed files to
allow external editors to modify the title, and pass back anony status
(for fedit and wwivedit, at least).

You can now use 'L' at the message scanning prompt to load a file (for
posting or auto-replying), if sl==255.

You can now type 'C' at the mail read prompt to go into uedit, in short
mode, without clearing the screen.  This is useful for changing a user's
name or phone #, so if you get email saying "please change my phone
number to 123-456-7890", you just hit C, P, and copy the phone # out of
the email.

boardedit now displays a sub's sub type (instead of anony and key) in
the main listing.

When the BBS is initializing, if it runs out of memory, it will now tell
you exactly WHERE it ran out of memory, and how much it was trying to
allocate, to facilitate tracking down problems where the BBS won't come
up at all.



/****************************************************************************/

WWIV v4.21:

You can now have a file "NNALL.NET" in your data directory instead of
lots of little NN*.NET files.  You have two columns of data in it, the
first being the sub type, the second being the host system.  Anything
after the second column is ignored.  Note that if you use this, and are
using net26 or earlier, the net feedback may give incorrect info about
"unknown system X in NNALL.NET".

If you're using net29 or later, when you change the sub type in
//boardedit, you will have the option of sending an automated sub
add/drop request (so you will not need the 'REQ.EXE' program).  The BBS
will now also update your nnall.net file when you subscribe to a
subboard.  The BBS checks the subs.lst file (and subs.1, etc, if any) to
find the host for the sub in question.

The list of disallowed filenames (CON, LPT, etc) are taken from the
system device list instead of being hard-coded, for added security.  ^
(caret) from the xfer main menu lists out the devices found.

In addition to .ZIP, now .ARC, .ARJ, and .LZH files are checked for
invalid filenames/paths before extraction is allowed.

Interrupt handling has been completely re-done.  Instead of using 3
interrupt vectors, the BBS now only uses one, and the vector used is not
hard-coded, but an unused vector is dynamically selected.  This should
fix problems with SCSI drives, networks, etc.

Bi-directional file transfers are now supported, using hslink.  If you
want to use bimodem, source code modifications are required.  The hslink
bi-directional commandline is:

hslink -p%2 -e%4 -@ @%3

You can now forward mail (from the mail read prompt) over the network.

, (comma) from the main menu allows the sysop to print out the
netdat*.log files.

/z from the main menu does a newscan of all dirs (the equivalent of a
Z), saves it to a file, zips it up, and allows the user to DL it.

/s from the xfer main menu creates a list of all files the user has
available, and adds it to the temporary archive.

Users can now close their mailbox.

Type 2 messages (in subboards or email) now support >1MB dat files (in
the msgs\ directory).  Previously, if all the posts added up to over
1MB, things would start getting screwed up.  net28 and later support the
>1MB files.  (For <1MB files, it is completely compatible with previous
versions.)

A co-sysop now has the option of purging mail from a specific user.  If
you get a lot of junk-mail from the same user, hitting 'P' at the mail
read prompt will allow you to delete all mail waiting for you from that
user.

The newuser routines have been re-done to support ANSI.

The xfer sections that a user has access to are searched for duplicate
filenames before an upload is allowed.

If you have a chain that does not need DOS intercepts, and shrinks,
return.exe will no longer be loaded.  The only overhead you'll have for
the program is bbs.com (about 1k) and command.com (about 3k), for a
total of about 4k overhead.  This is only for SHRINKING WITHOUT DOS
INTERCEPTS.

To enable flow control when running the BBS when a user is already
logged on (from a front-door type program, where you usually use the /b,
/o, etc parameters), pass /C to the BBS also.

/****************************************************************************/

WWIV v4.20:

The source code has been cleaned up quite a bit.  Consult the source
docs (wwivsour.doc) for more info, if you are registered and have the
source code.

A few of the file formats have changed; run the init program once to
convert any WWIV v4.12 or earlier data files to the v4.20 format before
running the BBS.

As always, lots of little bugs and oversights have been fixed.

Additional security has been added in to the temporary extraction
area in the transfer section.  It will now find the full path name of
pkzip/dsz/etc when executing any program (so it won't run a 'pkzip.bat'
file out of the temp dir).  Also, before allowing a user to extract any
files out of a .ZIP file, the BBS first scanns the .ZIP file to see if
it has anything like ".." or "\" or ":", or "command" in it.  If it
finds anything questionable in it, it will tell the user, and not allow
him to extract anything out of the file.  This prevents a user from
extracting a file "..\config.dat" or "c:config.dat" from a .ZIP file.  I
do not believe this is a problem with other archivers (arc, pak, lzh,
etc), but I do not know for sure.

The transfer section newscan has been speeded up, for the case when
there are no new files in a directory.

The message base newscan/quickscan has been speeded up also, for the
case when there are no new messages on a sub.  You will see the
"< Nothing new on General 1 >" in this case.

The modem handling routines have been completely done.  The modem
info/result codes section in init has been replaced with a simple
'select your modem' menu.  If your modem isn't listed, or the modem
isn't handled correctly, consult the 'wwivmodm.doc' file.

A new command-line option has been added to the BBS, /S.  If a user is
connected at 14400/HST/HST/V.42bis (thus the modem speed is 14400, but
the com port baud rate is 38400), then you would say "BBS /B14400
/S38400 /O" to say that the modem speed is 14400, the com port speed is
38400, and to quit the BBS when the use loggs off.  NOTE: You will only
need to use this if you are running a front-end program to the BBS.

You can say "//NET=5250" from the main menu to start the net listing at
a specified system number.

//rsort from the dl main menu will reverse-sort the entire xfer section
by date.  This is to allow you to easily remove old files.

UARTS with buffers now have the buffers enabled by the BBS.  The init
program automatically detects buffered UARTS.

The BBS now supports dos-macros.  Create a file in your data directory
called "macros.txt".  The format of the file is one char then a DOS
command-line.  For example, if you put "d dir" in the macros.txt file,
then whenever you hit ALT-D while in the BBS, the BBS will shell-to-dos
and run the "dir" command (running "dir" is fairly useless, but you get
the idea).  I use it for editing WWIVnet message files, having entries
such as "n q data\n*.net", which runs qedit on all the n*.net files when
I hit alt-n.

The baud rate the user is logged on at is displayed on the boarder line
for the top-of-screen info.

For WWIVnet email/posts, the &,%,^ indicators (for NC, GC, AC) are
displayed in the message only if the email/post is from user #1 on the
system.

When people reply to a post (via the 'W' command in the messagebase), in
addition to the "RE:" line, a "BY:" line is saved, indicating who posted
the message that the reply is in reference to.

When extracting out posts/email using the 'E' command, the title is now
written out along with the post/email.

When receiving source-verified net-email, a line on the message now
indicates that it is source-verified, and who it is from.

Batch downloads have been expanded, and batch uploads are now supported.
Any protocol that writes to the dszlog can now be used as a batch
protocol (for upload or download).  The files to up or download are
passed to the protocol in the "@c:files.lst" method, where a file
listing the files to transfer is passed to the protocol.

The appropriate lines for DSZ (minus any flow options you may need) are:
Batch Send: "dsz port %2 speed %1 est 0 %4 sz @%3"
Batch Receive: "dsz port %2 speed %1 est 0 %4 restrict rz"

Any unexpected files that are uploaded with batch upload will simply be
deleted.  When selecting up/download or batch up/download, only the
protocols available for that function will be listed.  Protocols can now
be restricted to error-controlled (ie, LAPM, MNP2-4) connections only.

There is now a batch upload directory, which defaults to your temp
directory.  You may want to change this to be a directory on the same
disk where most of your uploads are, for increased performance.

BIMODEM is >NOT< supported currently.

The upload event is now run anytime a file is uploaded (including
//upload, //uploadall).  A "Please wait..." message is displayed, and
the output is NOT re-directed to the com port, as it was in v4.12.  This
ensures that the upload event will completely run, even if the user
hangs up while it is running.

File searches (by date, filename) can now be aborted more quickly by
hitting a spacebar, even if there is not anything being printed out to
the user at the time.

The users SL is now always saved and restored when you use F9 to make
the user a temp-sysop, even if you use //dos to shell to dos.

A bit more info is printed out in uedit about a user, including their
birthdate, where their mail is forwarded to, and their WWIV reg num (if
any).

The user-search now includes the ability to search based on number of
logons, ie, "LOGONS<[2]" to find any user only logged on once.

You can now import file descriptions from other BBS formats (such as
QBBS, RBBS, PCBoard).  First, ensure that you have the DOS directory set
correctly in //boardedit (to point to the directory which the files are
in).  Then, in xfer section, go to the correct directory, and type
//uploadfile.  It will first ask you for the file format, then the file
name for the file which holds the file names/descriptions.  This command
runs pretty much the same as //upload, except it takes the descriptions
from the text file instead of prompting the user for the descriptions.