Internet Surfer 2.0

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Internet Surfer 2.0 / Internet Surfer 2.0 (Wayzata Technology) (1996).iso / pc / textfile / faqs / waffle_f < prev next >

Wrap

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-26 | 27.6 KB

Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu comp.bbs.waffle:5092 news.answers:4548 Newsgroups: comp.bbs.waffle,news.answers Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!snobol.cs.psu.edu!fenner From: fenner@cs.psu.edu (Bill Fenner) Subject: Waffle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Message-ID: <Bz6oJ9.2zs@cs.psu.edu> Followup-To: comp.bbs.waffle Originator: fenner@snobol.cs.psu.edu Sender: news@cs.psu.edu (Usenet) Nntp-Posting-Host: snobol.cs.psu.edu Reply-To: fenner@cs.psu.edu (Bill Fenner) Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 05:57:08 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.edu Expires: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 05:57:02 GMT Lines: 739 Archive-name: waffle-faq Original-Author: vds7789@aw2.fsl.ca.boeing.com (Vince Skahan) Last-modified: $Date: 1992/12/11 23:55:36 $ Waffle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ======================================== INTRODUCTION The intent of this document is to assemble, in one place, a general list of Waffle-related Frequently Asked Questions. It is not intended to be all-inclusive, since no one document can replace the 400KB or so of documents that come with Waffle. Rather than repeat material maintained in other newsgroups, other periodic postings, or the \waffle\docs directory, this document will attempt to point the reader to the right place for information that is either too complicated to describe here, or is kept up to date elsewhere. This document includes information for the current official release of Waffle (v1.65, released 8/1/92). In many cases, the answer to a FAQ might be something along the lines of "you can't at v1.64 or before". Version-specific answers are indicated whenever possible. At this time, this document primarily addresses the DOS version of Waffle, but feel free to submit unix-Waffle FAQs to the address above for inclusion in the next posting. Comments, additions, and corrections are welcomed (via e-mail please). GENERAL INFORMATION 1. What is Waffle ? Waffle is a USENET-compatible BBS system which supports UUCP mail, UUCP, and USENET news. In addition, there is a built-in editor, file upload/download, and the ability to hook in external programs and gateway to (or from) other packages. DOS Waffle supports (but does not require) external Fossil drivers to allow use of high speed modems and allows an MSDOS PC to be a fully RFC compliant USENET node. It also provides the UUCP-based transport mechanism that generally comes with unix systems. Unix Waffle provides just the BBS functionality and requires the 'traditional' unix communications, mail, and USENET-news software for those functions. See \waffle\docs\readme, unix.doc, and dos.doc for more details. 2. What operating systems does it run on ? IBM-PCs and compatibles running MSDOS (which includes Microsoft Windows, DR-DOS, and OS/2 if you have enough memory). Many variants of unix. In particular, configuration options are already in place for: NeXT, BSD 4.2/4.3, A/UX, SUN, LINUX, IRIS, Ultrix, XENIX, Interactive 386/ix, HP/UX, Altos 2000. If you have one of these environments, Waffle should just drop in with no problems. LICENSING 1. Is Waffle free ? In a word, no. The DOS version is shareware that is made available in binary form at many locations so you can 'try before you buy'. The UNIX version is available as source code only, and there is no provision to 'try before you buy'. However, the look and feel of the two versions are almost identical, so the DOS version serves as a 'try' version. 2. OK, so what's it cost ? For non-commercial sites, DOS Waffle costs $30.00 (US) for binaries and $120.00 (US) for sources. The unix sources are $120.00 (US) for non-commercial sites. Contact the author, Tom Dell <dell@vox.darkside.com> for info about purchasing Waffle, or see \waffle\docs\register.doc from the DOS distribution for more details. 3. What if I bought DOS binaries and I now want sources ? You pay the difference between the binary fee you've paid already and the cost of the source code. 4. Once I'm registered, can I upgrade to new versions for free ? Yes, although you might have to download a copy rather than expecting a floppy to come in the mail. AVAILABILITY 1. How can I get Waffle by ftp ? Anonymous ftp: ------------- Waffle (DOS version) is available via anonymous ftp from SIMTEL20 and its various mirror sites as follows: wsmr-simtel20.army.mil 26.2.0.74 pd1:<msdos.waffle>waf165.zip wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 /pub/mirrors/msdos/waffle/waf165.zip There are other SIMTEL20 mirror sites. See the periodic postings in comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d and news.answers for more details. 2. What if I'm not on the Internet ? From the author's BBS: --------------------- The Dark Side of the Moon BBS 1.408.245.SPAM (7726) (Tom Dell) From SIMTEL20 and mirrors via mail-based-archive-servers: --------------------------------------------------------- A number of sites run archive-servers to give non-Internet folks the ability to do the equivalent of ftp-by-mail. If you do not have FTP access to SIMTEL20, files may be ordered by mail from: Internet-style: listserv@vm1.nodak.edu listserv@vm.ecs.rpi.edu UUCP-style: uunet!vm1.nodak.edu!listserv uunet!vm.ecs.rpi.edu!listserv Send this command to the server to get its help file: GET PDGET HELP NOTE: remember that if you request items from an archive-server via mail, that your traffic goes through every system between the server and you, and adds such load on each system. Be courteous. There are a number of periodic postings in news.answers that tell how to get software via mail in far more detail than what is provided here. From other BBS sites: --------------------- Via mail: questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Steve Pershing): mail with text 'help' to username 'MailServer' Available for downloading: The Heart of Gold BBS +1 814 238-9633 300-2400/v.32/v.32bis/ZyXEL 16.8k, free download on first call look in /file/ibm/bbs/waf*.zip SUPPORT MECHANISM 1. How can I get questions answered ? First, read everything in \waffle\docs. Then read them about 3 more times. Then read them again. Running a USENET site is not difficult, but it's also not trivial. Running Waffle is not always immediately self-evident either. The docs will help... a lot. Yes, there is a lot to read, and yes, it seems ponderous, but most of your questions are answered either in the docs or in this FAQ. Use of a version of 'grep' to scan all the documents for keywords is highly recommended, or looking in 1.65's new \waffle\docs\index. 2. Is there a USENET newsgroup for Waffle ? Yes, comp.bbs.waffle (also known as 'c.b.w.') Don't be shy, there's a lot of expertise in c.b.w. That's what it's there for. 3. Can I get in touch with the author of Waffle ? Yes. Tom Dell reads comp.bbs.waffle, though he doesn't generally post too often since he's busy 'doing good' for us all :-) He's also reachable via e-mail at dell@vox.darkside.com. Be aware that Tom gets *LOTS* of mail, so replies might take a while. In general, normal questions to comp.bbs.waffle will get quite a few responses in a very timely manner. There probably aren't too many questions you can't get answered in c.b.w. 4. How many Waffle sites are there currently? It's hard to say since there are sites that are unregistered, not in the UUCP maps, and/or are mail-only and do not exchange news. There are at least 300 sites running the DOS version who have posted USENET news to 'the net' in the last six months or so. MAIL 1. How can I route domainized mail for my uucp neighbor directly to them ? Domain-based mail goes to your smarthost (as defined in static) unless you override that route with an entry in paths. If you mail to 'friend@hostname.domain' and you're directly connected to them via UUCP, you can force a direct delivery with a paths entry of : hostname.domain hostname 2. What should I do with my headers? Nothing unless you know what you're doing. In general, you want your 'netmail' and 'netnews' parameters in static to result in valid headers, so that people can reply to you. If you can do so, get into a domain and domainize all your headers. It'll make your life easier and will do the same for people who exchange mail with you. The important thing to remember is that if you put a domain-style address out without being domainized, people will probably not be able to reply to your mail. Just because an address looks good doesn't make it valid... 3. I'm not in a domain. What should my headers look like ? In general, you want to have an address that is a known-good route from a known site. Some possibilities are: All bang-path ===> some_known_host!your_site!you mixed format ===> you%your_site.uucp@some_internet_site your_site!you@some_internet_site The actual format that works best for you depends on who you're connected to and what their mailer can handle. Note that the all bang-path format is not reccomended for news; sites running B News will mangle your article in such a way that downstream sites running newer software will drop it on the floor. 4. I'm a single site. Should I register in the UUCP maps? Yes, or get a domain name. The bottom line is that if people try to mail to you, you want your address to be reachable. From Internet, you want to get domainized and get a MX record if you can. From UUCP-only sites that don't touch Internet, you probably need a map entry (or a header that routes you through somebody with a map entry you can trust). 5. Can I display something other than the sender in mail ? Yes, at 1.65 you can specify the header you want to see when you do a list of messages via the 'listmail' item in static. Unfortunately, this is not configurable per-user, only per-site. 6. Does Waffle support mail folders ? Yes, at 1.65. If you have no new mail in your mailbox, you can say 'mail *' to get a list of mailboxes to read. 7. Can I use (my favorite mail program) ? Some people have had luck with 'readmail' for reading only, and at 1.65 either mush or pc-elm should work for read/write. Version 1.65 has MMDF-style mailboxes with messages separated by four control-A's, so mush and pc-elm should be able to read/write these messages, though you'll have to reindex your mailbox with 'makebox' or the like if you write to it. 8. Can I keep a record of all mail that comes into the system ? Yes, create a file called 'inbox' in \waffle\admin and all incoming mail will be copied there. You can stash this file elsewhere via the rr.inbox variable in the static file. See rmail.doc for more information... FILES SECTION 1. How can I set the prompt in the files section ? Use the undocumented (before 1.65) 'fileprom' static file parameter. Try 'fileprom : [$f] :' as an example. 2. I use a Fossil driver and a 16550 UART with FIFOs enabled. After someone transfers a file, why does it seem as if characters are not being transmitted? If you use DSZ, it directly accesses the UART, and uses the FIFOs. By default, it turns them OFF when it finishes. Since Waffle (at least 1.64) doesn't appear to reset the Fossil driver, it tries stuffing characters into a buffer that's turned off. The fix is to use the 'F' flag on DSZ's command line in \waffle\extern\_send and _receive: Z /command="C:\waffle\bin\dsz F port %d est 0 %b sz -m %i", or to use the new (as of 1.65) /reset flag on the extern to make Waffle reset the FOSSIL: Z /command="C:\waffle\bin\dsz port %d est 0 %b sz -m %i" /reset This can also affect file transfers using the built-in editor. 3. Those @access files are sure a pain... 1.65 eliminates the @access files and replaces them with one consolidated 'dirs' file that controls access to the files section. Read \waffle\docs\files.doc for more info. EXTERNALS 1. How do they all work ? Simple. There's \waffle\extern\_system for the normal commands, and you can add any command you want with any access you want by adding a corresponding file to the \waffle\extern directory. Be careful regarding security, though... 2. I use 4DOS, yet Waffle shells out to DOS, not 4DOS... You need to change the command interpreter in \waffle\extern\_system to use 4DOS rather than command.com 3. If I implement Waffle as a door from another BBS, how can users exit from Waffle without dropping carrier? First, disable the 'exit' command in Waffle by adding the following line to your static file. disable: exit Then provide an external implementation of the exit command by creating extern\exit with the following contents. /access=0 /logout=exit /log /exit=81 This causes Waffle to drop, without dropping the modem connection, with errorlevel 81 (or whatever level you want to specify). The /access=0 ensures that all Waffle users can get back out once they get in. EDITORS 1. What editors can I use ? Locally, any editor your little 'ol heart desires that works in pure ASCII (ie, you could use WordPerfectOffice, but not WordPerfect itself since that saves in a non-ASCII format normally). Remotely, you have to be careful to use an editor that is ANSI oriented and that doesn't do direct DOS screen I/O. Some editors that are frequently used (and are available on SIMTEL20 and other fine archive sites) include: MEANSI.ZIP - MicroEmacs compiled to use ANSI mode. BBStevie - vi clone FSED - a very configurable editor that can be made to look like just about any editor you want Be aware that if you set up external editors for your remote users, you might have a security risk on your hands. Be sure that you know whether your editor will let a remote user shell out to the operating system or not, and that you're giving exactly the privileges you mean to give out. BBStevie in particular is designed to be configurable so that you can prevent folks from getting to the shell (if you want) and you can use the same binary to ALLOW some other folks shell access if you want to do that, based on their Waffle access level. 2. How can I use different local and remote editors ? At 1.65, you can define different local and remote editors from within Waffle, so it's simple. The STATUS command does not let you edit your local editor, however; you have to ADMIN T <you>. Prior to 1.65, you should modify /waffle/extern/_editors to run a batch file which gets passed the baud rate, and decides based on that whether to run a local or remote editor. 3. Why does (insert editor here) work locally, but not remotely? If you try BBStevie locally and it's fine, yet you get a blank screen when you use it remotely, make sure that you do not have an ansi driver loaded. Some people have luck using PC Magazine's ansi.com, which can be loaded and unloaded as part of a batch file around your 'waffle local username' command, so that there's no ansi driver loaded by default for remote users. Version 3.0 of BBStevie can use a FOSSIL driver to do its own modem i/o, so that you can use a local ANSI driver to handle local use and remote use will take care of itself. NEWS 1. Can I keep a copy of all posts ? Yes, look in static.doc and the USENET file distributed with Waffle for /spy=monitor. 2. Can I gateway mail to news ? Absolutely. You need to set up an alias in 'aliases' that looks something like the following: newsgroup-name | post newsgroup.name 3. Does Waffle provided threaded newsreading ? Not at this time. If you grab a copy of 'snews' from an archive site (ie, SIMTEL in the msdos.uucp directory) and hook it into Waffle, you have something that's somewhat close. 4. Does Waffle support kill files ? Not at this time, and most of us would kill for that :-) This is planned for v1.66 if Tom responds to all the pleading. 5. Why do I see multiple copies of the same article ? Because Waffle has no 'real-news'-like history mechanism at this time. Waffle considers an article to be a duplicate only if the local site is already in the path. If you get a newsfeed of the same newsgroup from several Waffle sites into your DOS Waffle, expect to see lots of duplicates :-( History mechanism is currently planned (rumored) for v1.66 6. Why do my local postings not make it to USENET ? Probably because you forgot to run the 'batch' command to take the list of articles to go out, assemble them, compress them, and queue them up for transmission. You should call 'batch' from your poll.bat or from cron via the schedule file. 7. Can I edit the newsgroups line when making a post ? Not directly, but you can 'followup groupA groupB' and get the same functionality. Same goes for mailing a reply to somebody and also kicking your reply to somebody else. 8. Can I effectively read and followup to saved news messages ? Not really at this time. If you're at the console, you could use 'readmail' to read them reasonably efficiently, though you couldn't respond via mail or followup. There are also a myriad of relatively ugly workarounds available in 1.65 making creative use of makebox.exe, perl, etc. to make the saved messages into a mail folder. Being able to have saved news articles as a mail 'folder' and use the mail program to read/follow/reply to saved news has been suggested to Tom for a future release. 9. In 'rn', how can I mail an article to somebody other than the author? Hit ":m username" Same idea for saving a message to a specified filename. In that case you want to hit ":s filename". Think of it like hitting ':' to get to command mode in vi. Be careful, though, if you're at a "More" prompt - at the "More" prompt, a ':' just gets you to the "What next?" prompt, so you have to hit two colons. ADMINISTERING A USENET SITE 1. What books should I buy ? There are several that no USENET admin should be without. From O-Reilly+Associates: Administering UUCP and USENET A Directory of Electronic Mail Addressing and Networks From 'The Waite Group' Unix Communications 2. What other stuff should I read ? Read USENET news, particularly some or all of the following groups: comp.bbs.waffle comp.mail.uucp news.admin.misc news.answers news.newusers.questions COMMUNICATIONS 1. What settings do I use for my Telebit modem ? That's far too complicated a question to answer here. In general, turn compression off, and turn uucp 'spoofing' on. This can all be done on the fly by sending register settings as part of your send-expect sequence when you call out, or you can do so as part of your modem initialization string in static. Some Telebit modems don't save the register settings. You might have to set the registers in both the init string and in the calling sequence. Also, grab a FOSSIL driver to control the port if you are running a 9600 baud modem or above. BNU and X00 seem to be the most popularly used fossils according to the folks in c.b.w. Don't forget to set the driver to 'fossil' in the static file. 2. What's the best throughput I can expect ? Throughput is a function of a variety of things, including (but not limited to): - the speed and load of both systems - the speed of both modems - line noise on the phone line - the size of the batches being transferred - whether or not you are using a FOSSIL driver With a 2400 baud modem, you should get anywhere between 200 and 220 cps unless you're transferring very small batches. V.32 (9600 bps) should get anywhere between 700 and 1020 cps. With a Telebit Trailblazer Plus, you should expect something on the order of 800 to 1400+ characters/second to a similar modem. Watch your \waffle\admin\net file for details regarding your average characters per second. A drop off from what's "normal" could indicate hardware problems or line problems. [ shameless plug mode on ] To summarize your DOS net file easily, grab a copy of 'netsum' from the Waffle directory on one of the archive sites.. It can generate a variety of reports that can answer things like "based on 11 cents/minute, how much DID I spend to uunet so far ?" 3. What are the special characters recognized by the chat script ? See \waffle\docs\network.doc or 'Managing UUCP and USENET' for details. 4. How can I stop my connection from timing out while switching speeds ? Use uu.delay in static to set a default delay or use the -t parameter in your uucico command to override the default. See network.doc for more details. Also, make sure your modem will wait for a carrier at least as long as the uu.delay you specify. If your modem uses the AT command set this is probably the S7 register setting. Lastly, if you talk to a Telebit modem and you have a non-Telebit modem (that talks just file to anything else), you might want to ask your feed to put PEP tones last. Initial PEP tones can confuse non-Telebit modems quite a bit. 5. What does this error mean? See \waffle\docs\network.doc or 'Managing UUCP and USENET' for details. AFTERMARKET ADD-ONS 1. What add-on products are available for Waffle ? lots...and I mean lots. When in doubt poke around the Waffle directory on SIMTEL20 or a mirror site for the list of stuff that's purely Waffle related. Also, keep your eyes open in the Waffle newsgroup for information related to utilities that might not have been uploaded to Simtel. Lastly, look in \waffle\docs\third.doc in 1.65 MISCELLANEOUS 1. How can I set my mail and news signatures to be different ? It's built-in already. The mailsig file is for mail, the sig file is for news. The \waffle\system\sig file gets inserted if it's there and you don't have a personal sig or mailsig file. There are also a number of utilities around to give random or user-definable signatures rather than just one signature each time. 2. Can I use 16-bit compression ? Sure, if you have enough memory and can find a 16-bit compression program. One is provided with 1.65 and there are a variety of add-in 16-bit compress programs for 1.64 and earlier available on SIMTEL. If you use 16-bit compress, be sure you have the 'compress' flag in the static file set correctly for the compress you're using. See \waffle\docs\comp16.doc . 3. What are all those files in \waffle\* anyway ? At 1.65, Look in \waffle\docs\roadmap.doc for descriptions of almost every file that comes with the software. 4. What document in \waffle\docs contains what ? In 1.65, see 'index.doc' for a description of the docs. If you have 'grep', you don't need to ask this anyway :-) 5. Can I alter my headers after composing a message ? Some of them are editable in 1.65 via the 'alter' static parameter. Don't put "To:", "CC:" or "Newsgroups:" in 'alter'; it won't work. 6. Does DOS Waffle support control messages ? Other than cancelling a message you posted that hasn't been batched up yet, no. You might want to look at the contents of the control newsgroup once in a while to see what control messages you received that Waffle didn't process. WAFFLE BUGS As with any large system, Waffle has bugs. Since the source is available, some users have fixed some of the bugs that have cropped up. In this section, the notation "Patch: <user>" means that the mentioned user has a patch to the source code available that will fix the problem. You need to already have the source code for this to be useful to you. "BPatch: <user>" means that the mentioned user has a binary patch available, which anyone should be able to use. "Fixed: 1.xx" means that the bug is fixed as of the mentioned version. "Workaround:" means that there is a way to avoid the bug in normal operation. 1. When I mail to a | post alias from within Waffle, it only posts the headers. This is a bug having to do with external editors. Workaround: use the internal editor when mailing to such an alias. Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu Fixed: 1.66 2. When I mail to a | post alias from within Waffle, it only works the first time, the second time it doesn't do *anything*. Workaround: none known. Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu Fixed: 1.66 3. I configured my modem to work with FAX, but Waffle keeps saying [Hayes code -2] and hangs up. This occurs if you have Auto-ATA: in your static file. Workaround: make your modem answer the phone (no Auto-ATA: in the static file and ATS0=1 in the initialize string). Patch: fenner@cs.psu.edu Fixed: 1.66 4. I have personal aliases for "mom" and "dad", and when I type "mail mom dad" Waffle complains "No such user", even though I can type "mail mom" or "mail dad" and it works fine. Waffle's implementation of personal aliases isn't complete. Workaround: put the aliases in /waffle/system/aliases WARNING: This makes your aliases available to all users, so *be* *careful* with what you put there. TRANSITION TO 1.65 1. I updated my config files, but they didn't work. Some of the config files, notably 'paths', moved in 1.65 to the new \waffle\uucp directory. Make sure you aren't editing the file in the old 1.64 location. 2. I'm going to run makebox. Anything I should know ? Yes. Makebox deletes the old mail files after it assembles the new mailbox. If you're paranoid, you might want to zip up your 1.64 mail messages before running makebox if you're not sure you'll stay at 1.65. Taking a few dozen 1.65 messages in a mailbox and going backward to 1.64 is a major pain unless you're a perl or awk whiz. 3. 1.65 sure seems scary, why should I bother? Lots of reasons. See history.doc and release.165 for details. Of course, if you're happy with the version you run, there's not a lot of rush to get updated, though most of the c.b.w. readers keep at the current version and you'll get better help from c.b.w. by staying current. There are still some Waffle sites at v1.61 (!!!).