HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com (David W. Tamkin)
Subject: Re: Nixpub bashing
Organization: Contributor Account at ddsw1, Chicago, Illinois  60657
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 15:06:39 GMT
X-Disclaimer:  Material posted in this article is the sole responsibility of
                the poster and does not represent MCSNet or the system owners.

In <1992Aug29.045031.11188@anomaly.sbs.risc.net> someone borrowing the name
and .signature of Michael P. Deignan but admitting to being a forger brought
something up:

| The only thing I can think of perhaps changing would be adding USENET
| systems running on non-UNIX machines. For instance, what difference
| does it make if I run Waffle under DOS or Waffle under UNIX - you'll
| never interact with a shell/COMMAND.COM, so you really would never
| know the difference, as an end-user.

| But, of course, that's YOUR decision to make, not mine.

Phil Eschallier made that decision (or kept Wayne Warble's decision) on that
long ago.  Nixpub is a public-access *nix site list, not a public-access
netnews site list nor a list of public-access sites that can exchange email
with the Internet.

Phil wouldn't list Andrew Rossmann's Waffle site (infopls.chi.il.us in
Wheeling, Illinois) in Nixpub because it runs under MS-DOS.  So Robert
Hoffmann (hoffmann@infopls.chi.il.us) started the NetPub list for sites
that provide netnews or Internet-linked email regardless of underlying OS.

| As in all traditional DDMI-related posts, this posting is, of course,
| a forgery.

Indeed it was, but this one is not unless someone tampers with it in
propagation.

David W. Tamkin   Box 59297   Northtown Station, Illinois  60659-0297
dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com    CompuServe: 73720,1570    MCI Mail: 426-1818
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5350 comp.bbs.misc:609
From: salmieri@whitebase.ukp.com (Gregory Salmieri)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc
Subject: Re: BBS Standards Committee Formed
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 19:14:42 EDT
Organization: UKP Systems, Middletown, NJ

larry@gator.rn.com (Larry Snyder) writes:

> kd1hz@anomaly.sbs.risc.net (Michael P. Deignan (KD1HZ)) writes:
> 
> >I don't think that these companies are hardly representative of the
> >"top companies in the BBS and communications industry".
> 
> I would have to agree with you.  Like another poster had mentioned,
> most of the companies support DOS platforms - which is the amateur
> market - the majority of which are single line machines.
> 
> Real men use UNIX :)
> 
> 
> -- 
> Larry Snyder                                    internet: larry@gator.rn.com
> keeper of the Gator                                  uucp: uunet!gator!larry

I think the entire convention is geared to PCs. That would explane how 
little mention there has been (up to this point) on Use Net and all the info 
on FIDO.

 /-------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| It's all a game...                                                        |
|                        Gregory C. Salmieri                                |
|                                                       ...It's all the same|
 \-------------------------------------------------------------------------/
From: ed.hopper@ehbbs.hou.tx.us (Ed Hopper)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Re: Pay for a BBS?
Date: 31 Aug 92 12:09:00 GMT
Reply-To: ed.hopper@ehbbs.hou.tx.us (Ed Hopper)
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462

In article, weenie@yenta.alb.nm.us (Dean Kerl) writes:
-> I've been reading the traffic in here about pay BBS's since I
-> got this account about a week ago. As my full time job is
-> running my 39 line BBS, I wonder what everyone has against
-> pay BBS's?

Why running a Pay BBS is worse than child abuse, rape, famine in Somalia, death
in Bosnia, being a Republican and Hurricane Andrew all rolled up into one!!!!
(Massive :-))

There's not a damn thing wrong with it.  Now if Joe Blow, modem user, doesn't
want to pay, that's fine.  He has a perfect right to keep his money in his
pocket.  I have yet to hear of a sysop holding a gun to the head of anyone to
send in their checks.

Now, if I was rich, I'd be *THRILLED* to run a first class BBS for free, in
fact, that would be the first thing I would do when the Publisher's Clearing
House camera crew left, after dropping off that cool $10,000,000.00.

I know several sysops of large, commercial profitable systems.  Some of them
support themselves and their families with these systems.

Now, given the choice of providing no BBS or a poor BBS for free and furnishing
a quality operation for a fee, it's a no-brainer.  Do the for-fee thing.

If you (not you Dean, but all those purists out there) have the means and
ability to provide a BBS for free, GREAT!  I applaud you.  But if you aren't
willing to put your money where your mouth is, then close your mouth.
                                                                                         
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5487 comp.bbs.misc:727
From: leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc
Subject: Re: BBS Standards Committee Formed (mine)
Date: 28 Aug 92 13:04:43 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1992Aug28.130443.8245
Reply-To: 70465.203@compuserve.com
Organization: SCN Research/Qic Laboratories of Tigard, Oregon.

peter@global.hacktic.nl (Peter Busser) writes:

>>Not that that has ANYTHING to do with message header definitions.
>But it's a sily debate because:

>1. MooSe-DOS uses 2K-4K clusters whereas UNIX uses 512byte blocks. That means
>   that a 1500 byte large message (which is typical for my FidoNet system,
>   which has a *.MSG message base) wastes 500-2500 bytes as it always fits in
>   one cluster. The same message would waste only a few bytes on my Linux
>   machine.
>   On the average every file on a system wastes half a disk block (or cluster,
>   depending on which term your OS uses). On a MooSe-DOS system this means that
>   every file on a disk with a 2K cluster size wastes 1K and with a 4K cluster
>   size 2K! Note that this average assumes that all files on a disk are large
>   files, which of course is not true. A smaller block size is more efficient
>   with smaller files.

Which is why QuickBBS (and it's clones) store the messages in a set of
database type files. The text of the message wastes at most 254 bytes,
because the MSGTXT.BBS file is a file of String[255] (Turbo Pascal).
And since access is indexed, it's probably faster than a *.msg format
because the index is searched more efficiently than the DOS directory
structure. Only real drawback is that at the time the structures were
defined, TP didn't have Longint types, so the record pointers were
defined as *words*. This limits the message base to a bit over 16 meg.
(Version 4 has that on the list of "must fix" items)

-- 
Leonard Erickson		      leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com
CIS: [70465,203]			 70465.203@compuserve.com
FIDO:   1:105/51	 Leonard.Erickson@f51.n105.z1.fidonet.org
(The CIS & Fido addresses are preferred)
From: thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp])
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Grep
Date: 2 Sep 92 02:22:40 GMT
Organization: Runic Writings / Lawrenceville, GA

Test



---
thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp])
Runic Writings
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
From: bx690@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeff Mirza)
Subject: phone systems
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 15:14:31 GMT


hI,
 I know that this is kind of off topic for alt.bbs but it does
tie in to! 
   Have you ever phoned up one of those phone systems where you
can get information without talking to anyone by choosing options
with your touch tone phone? Some examples are train schedule info
and tourism info. 

Does anyone know how complex these systems are and how expensive?
The reason I ask is because I was thinking it would be good to set
one up with all kinds of alternitive information that could be 
accessed by anyone. The reason I think this would be good is so    
that even if people don't have a computer they still have some   
alternative form of media. Also for some people this kind of 
system might be less intimidating than a bbs.

My guess is that such a system would be realy expensive but
it might be possible to set up a cheaper system by using a 
Sound Blaster card and a 386 (or something similar).

Anyone have any thoughts, facts, suggestions, ideas?
                           Thanks,
                           Jeff
From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Packet Radio BBS
Date: 4 Sep 1992 04:32:35 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu


Is it possible to send a BBS over the air?  Something like
Packet Radio so that people in remote areas can keyboard
into it without having to rack up large phone bills?
-- 
            Mike Romano     Univ. Calif. Berkeley
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5438 comp.bbs.misc:681
From: davidsen@ariel.crd.GE.COM (william E Davidsen)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Coherent Re: The bogus Nixpub Posting
Date: 2 Sep 92 13:04:09 GMT
Reply-To: davidsen@crd.ge.com (bill davidsen)
Organization: GE Corporate R&D Center, Schenectady NY

In article <1992Aug30.214532.8803@r-node.gts.org>, marc@r-node.gts.org (Marc Fournier - Sys Admin) writes:

| detailed policy listing to go with it.  There are probably
| enough sites like Dixie.com that operate the same way that
| he should get a sizeable list going...and I bet even some of
| the sites that are currently on nixpub submit to John's list
| as well to increase exposure??

  From John's posts on getting all the commercial advantage from usenet
that he can, I suspect that his list of good commercial systems is one
line long. And I can't imagine people paying John to carry their free
systems, any more than taking an ad in the yellow pages.

  I don't have any objection to carrying all systems in a single list,
as long as the info is there to screen them and delete the ones I don't
want. But since I don't publish a list, and I feel nixpub is highly
useful just the way it is, I'm not pressing to change it, just stating
my preference.

-- 
bill davidsen, GE Corp. R&D Center; Box 8; Schenectady NY 12345
    I admit that when I was in school I wrote COBOL. But I didn't compile.
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc,comp.misc
From: kd1hz@anomaly.sbs.risc.net (Michael P. Deignan)
Subject: Re: The bogus Nixpub Posting
Organization: The Rhode Island Internet Systems Cooperative Network
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 20:45:31 GMT

jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond) writes:

>Yeah?  Then why do I get a fairly steady stream of people asking me why
>dixie.com is not on the list?  

Define "steady stream". Once per year?


>I must have missed where phil's list states that it is only for people
>looking for a BBS.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  At least in this area,
>people who ask for "public access" are looking for a site to get news
>and mail.  BBSing is an optional extra.  

Your definition of "public access". My definition may vary.

[lame attempt to flame deleted]

MD
-- 
--  Michael P. Deignan                      / Sex is hereditary. If your 
--  Domain: mpd@anomaly.sbs.com            /  parents never had it, chances 
--    UUCP: ...!uunet!rayssd!anomaly!mpd  /   are you won't either...
-- Telebit: +1 401 455 0347              /
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc,comp.misc
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: The bogus Nixpub Posting
Date: Wed, 02 Sep 92 05:50:53 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes:

>John, why don't you just threaten to write a nasty article in a
>magazine about him, the way you tried to threaten Dell when you
>weren't satisfied with the help a friend of yours was getting?  

No mere threat actually, as you'll discover if you're capable of 
reading whole sentences and buying a copy of ME.  However, unlike
the Dell issue, the NixBogus list just doesn't matter enough. 

Besides, it's much more fun ti bait nitwits like you out of the woodwork.

John
-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine (TM) |
Marietta, Ga                         |Interested in high tech and computers? 
jgd@dixie.com                        |Write me about PE Magazine
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
From: Davin.Flateau@f120.n129.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Davin Flateau)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: RE-USRobotics SysOp deal
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 09:26:51 EST
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/120 - Mac For The Mind, Pittsburgh PA

>>it might be cheaper to get a V32b/V42b modem rather then the DS. a V32
>>may run about $200 vs $499 for the DS.

   However, be aware that HST speed on the new modems is now 16.8k...you get a
LOT extra for that price.

               Davin

--  
Davin Flateau via cmhGate - Net 226 fido<=>uucp gateway Col, OH
UUCP: ...!n8emr!bluemoon!cmhgate!129!120!Davin.Flateau
INET: Davin.Flateau@f120.n129.z1.FIDONET.ORG
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc
From: mimir@milton.u.washington.edu (Al Billings)
Subject: Re: Re^2: BBS Standards Committee Formed (mine)
Organization: The Friends of Loki Society
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 18:16:08 GMT

In article <366@global.hacktic.nl> peter@global.hacktic.nl (Peter Busser) writes:
>
>But not for UNIX aparently. Any ISA/EISA 386 that is capable of running OS/2
>is capable of running Linux. Linux is a free UNIX clone for the 386 and up. It
>is in beta stadium, but don't let that fool you, it is very stable (it passed
>the crashme test), complete and easy to install and use.

 But I have yet to see decent BBS software that has been ported to Linux.

Wassail,
Al Billings

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Al Billings - Anthropology Undergrad - Admin for the Troth-l Mailing List | 
| SysOp of The Sacred Grove BBS (206)634-1980 -=- mimir@u.washington.edu    |
------------------------------ Cut Here -------------------------------------
begin 644 GRENDEL.PUB
MF58``1%^*@Q":6QL:6YG<RP@06S^`2N`$7JAHA^YG*D:W0:>,_,\N<XL-]7BN
LV+1/'DT4SH3V2$'*(9NAE_,+VB9R.4=@$9R.J1?CL3H!9@HR8+7DD3@%`!$%E
``
end
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jmiksich@iowegia.uucp (John Miksich)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Prodigy -> InterNet
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 10:44:02 CDT
Distribution: world
Organization: Iowegia Waffle BBS, Clive IA USA, +1 515 226 2156

I read in "Computer Shopper", I believe, an article that said 
Prodigy expects to have a link with Internet by fall.  Of what 
year, though, is another story..  <G>  I'll try to find it..
 
jmiksich@iowegia.uucp - John Miksich

Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc,comp.misc
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: The bogus Nixpub Posting
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 06:29:20 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

fox@rei.com (Fuzzy Fox) writes:

>If I tell her she can get info on
>dixie.com by sending E-mail to info@dixie.com (or wherever), then she is
>no better off than she was before.

Of course, if you give her my phone number, she can call and chat with me
and I can send (fax or mail) her a contract.  I know, that's a bit complicated
for sophisticated computer users but that's the way business works.

>And furthermore, if you have no wish or need to attract more
>subscribers, then there's no need to be on the nixpub list.

Hmm.  Unless you're a person in Atlanta looking for local public access.
Then you're shit outta luck, huh?  Before you celebrate Dixie's being
hurt by not being listed on the public toilet list, consider what 
happens to the person on the other side of the fence.

John

-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine (TM) |
Marietta, Ga                         |Interested in high tech and computers? 
jgd@dixie.com                        |Write me about PE Magazine
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
From: rpwhite@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (rpwhite)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Re: Freenet
Date: 26 Aug 92 18:03:13 GMT
Reply-To: rpwhite@cs.nps.navy.mil (rpwhite)
Organization: Monterey Bay Yacht Club, Monterey CA

xx168@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Sysops Sig) writes:

)CFN is also accessible via the following Internet addresses:
 
)                      freenet-in-a.CWRU.EDU
)                      freenet-in-b.CWRU.EDU
)                      freenet-in-c.CWRU.EDU

For those of you who play by numbers they are:
 a       129.22.8.107
 b & c   129.22.8.110 

These have changed several times over the summer as CFN has reconfigured
its system.
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc,comp.misc
From: paul@xcluud.sccsi.com (Paul Hutmacher)
Subject: Re: The bogus Nixpub Posting
Organization: Greater Montrose UFO Appreciation Society & Data Haven
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 01:39:51 GMT

I think I'll have to go along with Phil on this.  Very Hostile.  Either
conform to his guidelines or do without.  You'll notice xcluud (my system)
is not on the list since I don't offer a first time login.  No big deal.

It's a free country.  Start your own list or comply with the existing one's
policies.  Just be nice about it.

-- 
"There is nothing to history.  No progress,          | Paul Hutmacher 
 no justice. There is nothing but random horror."    | Houston, Texas
"Jupiter" in _The Difference Engine_ Gibson/Sterling | paul@xcluud.sccsi.com
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5594 comp.bbs.misc:825
From: erik@pdnfido.fidonet.org (Erik VanRiper)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc
Subject: Re: BBS Standards Committee Formed (mine)
Date: 1 Sep 92 00:11:52 GMT
Organization: The Source for Source Pub Access Unix

In article <3448@global.hacktic.nl> peter@global.hacktic.nl (Peter Busser) writes:
>erik@pdnfido.fidonet.org (Erik VanRiper) writes:
>
>>Yes, MOST DOS based BBS systems have some sort of database and flat-file
>>format.  What the human above was talking about (the *.MSG message bases) 
>>obviously has NOT done any recent homework, or is using very outdated
>>software.
>That 'human above' (how do you know I'm no alien? :) was talking about his own
>system which uses a *.MSG message base. And that was because I was
>experimenting with UFGate because *.MSG is the only thing UFGate understands.
>The BBS package I use is Maximus 2.0 which is perfectly capable of storing
>messages in a Squish type database, so I *did* my homework recently and I
>don't use outdated software (although UFGate may be outdate).

I was not following your whole thread, so I am to blame for at least a little
confusion on this matter.  :-)

By the way, take a look at the "title" page of the Maximus Documentation.  I
wrote the original docs for 1.0/1.2, and still get a lot of credit for 2.0.
So, if you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a note, be glad to
help.  :-)  I also wrote a few handy utilities, like topusers and lastcall.

>>Just makeing things clear to those who also may not know.
>Of course. But anyway, the story about the *.MSG message base still is valid
>for ANY file on the machine and is not only limited to messages. If you have
>many files in the download directory, you lose diskspace too. And the Maximus
>help and misc files are a pain in the *ss too (hundreds of small .BBS and
>.MEC files). Generally speaking you lose 1K or 2K for every file on the
>system depending on the block size being 2K or 4K.

I found that the best way to maintain the misc and hlp areas was simply to
archive the *.MEC files into one archive, and use mecca a whole lot more
using the goto statement, trying to put as much info in one file as possible.
e.g.: If you have several different bulletin files, combine them into a 
single mecca-menu driven file.  Saves lots of space.  Enjoy.  :-)

/* Erik */


-- 
Like wow...  This be a .sig, eh? 
GEEKS Anonymous - Join today!
The Source for Source - Pub Access Unix.  (516) 968-7824 or (516) 666-5877
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
From: cblaise@moose.uvm.edu.UUCP (Chris Blaise)
Subject: Re: BBS Standards Committ
Originator: cblaise@moose.uvm.edu
Organization: University of Vermont -- Division of EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 17:54:28 GMT

From article <2544@aegis.or.jp>, by davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane):
> If TBBS (or anything else) hasn't been designed for multi-tasking,
> it could be a long long time.

	TBBS/eSoft's problem, IMHO, is not that TBBS isn't built
for multi-tasking (for what it is, a BBS, it does "multi-task" the
system, very nicely).  Their problem is that they're understaffed.
TAhey have, I believe, 3 different programmers to write software...

> Oh well, lots of time to convince people they don't really need
> to run stuff of their own design :-)

	*chuckle*  I certainly wonder, sometimes :)

 TTYl
 Chris
From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs
Subject: Re: BBS Standards Committ
Date: 1 Sep 92 00:21:17 GMT
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA

davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane) writes:
>Going back to what somebody else said (sorry, I forget who), I think
>it's the case that when TBBS wants to run certain modules/whatever
>(like handing incoming news) it needs to shut-down on-line operation.
>Is this so? 


Not quite.  If you want to run external programs, TBBS does indeed
have to shut down, and they're run as external events.  If you run one
of the programs provided by eSoft, however, these almost always allow
you to keep the BBS running.  For example, SYSOM allows you to do a
lot of sysop-type stuff without taking down the BBS, TIMS handles mail
without taking down the BBS, and with TDBS, anything you can write in
a fairly powerful dBase-like language can run without taking down the
BBS.  So, for instance, for the system I maintain, I can modify a
file, clear all user news flags, add a user, etc., without affecting
the operation of the BBS (beyond whatever I do).  If we had TDBS,
anyone could run one of the games written for it without affecting
anyone else.  However, if I wanted to run Xtree Gold, I'd have to shut
down the BBS temporarily, and if you wanted to run Global War, you'd
be out of luck on a multi-line system.  So there's a disadvantage
compared to a system run under OS/2 or Unix.  On the other hand, we
can run 8 lines off of a 10 MHz XT with 640K of memory, and the users,
who aren't tech types, don't have to put up with a waffle type
interface.


-- 
We'll pivot at warp 2 and bring all tubes to bear, Mr. Sulu.
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5463 comp.bbs.misc:707