From: Steve.Jenkins@f6.n346.z1.fidonet.org (Steve Jenkins)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.comp.literacy
Subject: RE: Macs BB
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 19:06:41 PST
Organization: FidoNet node 1:346/6 - Macs BBS, Spokane WA

In a message dtd 9/27/92, Jim Specht writes to Steve Jenkins:

JS> One other item that would be very helpful to me....what type of MAC
JS> are you running your BB on? Is HERMES memory intensive? Does it eat
JS> up a lot of RAM or does all the traffic start to clutter up your
JS> hard-drive? Is it an 40 meg, 80 meg HD or does it require a lot
JS> more?

Jim, my system is three lines (one HST/DS and two 2400 baud) and 
one Null Sysop node and is run off a MAC IIci w/8 megs RAM and a total 
of 850 Megs HD...currently available file transfer section is over 
400 megs and growing. You can just as easily run Hermes off a Mac Plus.
Course, it's slower and mail events take longer, but it works 
fine...I should know, I did it for a time. I even had two lines running 
off a Mac Plus, course you would only want to run under the Finder on a 
Plus and not Multitask (BBS would be too slow). 

Hermes comes preconfigured with memory allocation set at _about_ 
950 k; course anytime you run multinode you'll need to increase 
available memory allocation to the main Hermes BBS module. You can run
up to 10 nodes using Hermes on a Mac II machine. I've been overly lenient 
in setting my current Hermes memory allocation upwards of 3200 k, but 
then I'm running three live nodes and a rather large file transfer 
section. I know it's more than I require, but my system doesn't crash. 
I also run the BBS under the Finder only as I believe it is less prone 
to problems with memory fragmentation and such, course I have other 
Macs available for non BBS work.  

Hermes is one of several popular MAC BBS packages. There are other packages
available and whichever package a Sysop elects to run is entirely the
Sysops own decision. There are again numerous Hermes externals designed 
to further enhance Hermes, but some of the authors who program these
externals are not quite as proficient as others. The end result is that 
you _can_ have external conflicts between various externals and perhaps 
some externals should not be run because they're so buggy, but people 
run em. First and foremost I must have a stable system and anything that 
detracts from that, I'm not interested in. :-) I run a clean system 
(no externals, but for the authors "change phone number") and it's stable. 

A nice feature of Hermes is the pull down Hermes Sysop menus from where
you set up your message and file transfer areas. I especially
enjoy the Hermes Sysop Null Node (it's a dead Sysop node). I can and 
often am online reading echomail or even moving files around while two 
or three other users are also online. Some Sysops become Points off 
their own System so as not to tie up the BBS line. A Hermes Sysop can 
log on to their null node from the keyboard and perform any function,
just as if the Sysop were logged onto a live node...anything, except 
calling out from the Null node. Hermes also has internode chat...all 
four of us could enter the Chat room and carry on a live chat. :-) 

Doesn't clutter anything here Jim, other than whatever you put in the file
transfer sections? 

You can run a small BBS on even a 20 meg HD (likely message only and
perhaps a very small file transfer section) you don't have to have a
gigabyte server, although it's nice if you can. :-) 

JS> Sorry to hear that there are only 7 or 8 instructors involved.

While there are about 7 or 8 Educators registered on this system, only two 
of them are quite active in the K12NET areas. I wish it were more, but 
I'm  happy with these two. They're both "movers and shakers" kinds of
eduators. I admire them.

Also, the amount of time required for routine maintanence, housekeeping
is largely up to the Sysop. I think you can do as little or as much as you 
wish in this area. Hermes has an excellent file manager which 
makes moving a few or a great many files around a relatively painless task.
As your aware, backups are critically important, especially so with 
certain key file areas, like user log, etc. I tape backup every couple
days, takes only 14 minutes to scan and backup all changes to the entire 
system. 

JS> The k12 net is a _GREAT_ resource.

Yes, it is! :-) Take care Jim.

Steve




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