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RBBS-PC SYSOP SETUP CHECKLIST another service of the Central Texas Sysop's Association For the benefit of the many people who would like to operate an RBBS-PC system but do not have anyone to 'hold their hand' during their trials and tribulations of 'doing it the first time'! Because of the prevalence of hard disk usage these days we have made the following assumptions about the hardware to be used: 1. IBMPC or XT with a hard disk (previously formatted!) 2. Minimum RAM of 256k 3. Hayes 1200 external modem 4. Dedicated 'voice grade' phone line SOFTWARE REQUIRED 1. IBM PC-DOS 2.0 or higher to adequately support a hard disk 2. RBBS-PC.EXE - the main program 3. CONFIG.EXE - the setup program 4. RBBS-PC.DOC - the documentation file 5. ALL of the RBBS text files: MENU0 - MENU5, HELP01 - HELP09, WELCOME, DIR.DIR, xxxxxxxx.DIR, PRELOG, BULLET, BULLETxx 6. A text editor (PE2, WS non-doc, EDLIN, etc.) to create other useful/needed text files. Your editor MUST be capable of saving spaces (hex 20's) as characters and not substitute tab characters for strings of spaces. Those mentioned above ARE. 7. WATCHDGx.COM - an external carrier monitor prgm. x=COMx: available from most RBBS-PC systems. [ ] PRINT A COPY OF THE DOCUMENTATION! [ ] Have dinner or take a nap while the previous step executes [ ] Create a sub-directory in which RBBS-PC is to reside [ ] Change current directory to the newly created directory CHDIR \RBBS [ ] Create a sub-directory called NEW for your uploads [ ] Create any other sub-directories you desire to hold downloads MKDIR TURBO MKDIR PATCHES MKDIR UTILS etc. as sub-directories of C:\RBBS [ ] Copy RBBS-PC.EXE to the current directory (C:\RBBS should be) [ ] Copy CONFIG.EXE to the current directory [ ] Copy all MENU and HELP files to the current directory [ ] Create a text file which will serve as your bulletins menu (default = BULLET) using your text editor. Normally, it is desirable for this to be a single 23-line page or shorter. This is to serve as a 'menu' for the user to select bulletins for reading by choosing a number (1-99). Each bulletin file you create will be named BULLETxx where xx = the number on this menu file. See illustration at end of this file. 2 [ ] Create a text file for each bulletin you are to have available BULLET1 BULLET2 ... etc. making certain that the contents of each corresponds to the indication in the bulletin menu file. [ ] To support all of the graphics options of RBBS you will need a separate BULLET file (BULLETG for IBM-ASCII and BULLETC for ANSI graphics). This naming convention (suffix of G or C) applies also to the menus and the directory files. If disk space is, or is anticipated to be, a problem use of only one set of menus, et al, is recommended. [ ] Create a text file named PRELOG. Although this file is truly an option, it is a good place for announcements which you want all callers to see. If your system restricts new users to 1200 baud or higher it is also a good place to let 300 baud callers know why they cannot log on. [ ] Create a text file named WELCOME (WELCOMEG, WELCOMEC, if desired) which can contain anything you'd like to express to your callers in the way of a greeting or other info. Many sysops use this file to display their 'logo' and a brief description of the equipment they are using. [ ] Now we come to the text files which are the most hassle, both to create initially and to maintain. The files list(s) which are called directories in the documentation. These text files require a very specific format (illustrated below) because RBBS-PC searches for information based on the fields being pre-determined lengths. The top of each file should be a 'header' which describes the contents of the list (utilities, newfiles, etc.). ************************************************************************ HEADER ILLUSTRATION HEADER ILLUSTRATION HEADER ILLUSTRATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAME EXT SIZE DATE DESCRIPTION ************************************************************************ RBBSCRIP ARC 2560 07-20-86 QMODEM SCRIPT to log you onto RBBS's PC-QUIZ ARC 34048 07-19-86 Used to quiz or as a trivia game DB3AR ARC 53248 07-17-86 dBASE ]I[ Accounts Receivable Package ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 1 9 14 24 34 NOTE THE NUMBERS UNDER THE CARETS! They indicate the starting column for each field. Fortunately, the starting columns are the same for the output of the DOS 'DIR' command which by re-directing the output to a file will take care of the structure of the first four fields. You'll need to delete the time of day which DOS will include in the output. One last comment on the 'directory' files, it will be to your users' advantage if you arrange the listings in descending date order (most recent first) as illustrated above. [ ] You will want a .DIR file to correspond to each of the DOS sub- directories available to your users for downloading 3 [ ] Create a text file named DIR.DIR which contains a list of the available .DIR filenames (minus the extension) and some brief description of how the user may view these lists. ie L;XYZ or L;123 Now for some suggestions: 1) Place the .DIR file for each sub-directory IN that sub-directory. 2) Place the DIR.DIR file in the \RBBS sub-directory. 3) NECESSARY! Place the NEWFILES.DIR file in the \RBBS\NEW sub-directory. [ ] Create a text file named FILESEC which is one of the most sig- nificant of the sysop generated files since it gives you total control of which files & sub-directories are available to you or your users for downloading. Files may additionally be protected from downloading by password(s) which RBBS will require of the user if the file is requested. The format of this file is VERY specific as are the other security related files you will create. *** See illustration at the end of this file. *** [ ] Create yet another text file named TRASHCAN which is checked by RBBS when a newuser logs on, it will contain a list of the user names which you will not permit on your system. These might include sexually oriented or derogatory terms, computer jargon, common abbreviations, etc. *** See illustration at the end of this file. *** [ ] Create a text file named PASSWRDS from which you may control the logon duration of various user security levels and/or permit extending the current logon of a user through know- ledge of specific passwords. Again, the format of this file is critical to its functionality. *** See illustration at the end of this file. *** [ ] There is one more text file which you may wish to utilize. Named NEWUSER it is shown only to those persons signing on to your system for the first time. It can contain anything which you want a newuser to know about the system (ground rules, conferences, etc). It is displayed immediately prior to the caller being asked to C)hange his logon data, D)isconnect, or R)egister on the system. [ ] Create a batch file (RBBS.BAT is the one suggested in the documentation) which can be very extensive or minimal depending upon your needs/desires. A minimal one is listed here for your convenience. C: ;change to your default RBBS drive CD\RBBS ;change to the BBS directory IF EXIST RCTTY.BAT DEL RCTTY.BAT ;cleanup if returning ;from DOS/DOORS WATCHDGx OFF ;turn off external carrier monitor prgm. RBBS-PC ;invoke the BBS prgm. WATCHDGx ON ;turn on external carrier monitor prgm. IF EXIST RCTTY.BAT RCTTY.BAT ;start remote console ;operation via this ;dynamically built .BAT CD\RBBS ;return to BBS directory if not current dir. RBBS.BAT ;restart the loop 4 [ ] Now with documentation in hand type CONFIG and press Enter After a welcoming screen is displayed you will be asked if you will be running multiple nodes - for this discussion it is assumed that you have only one phone line. So type NO and press the Enter key. In a few seconds you will see the main configuration menu, press the F1 key to access the first 'page' of the setup options. CAREFULLY answer each of the questions regarding sysop names, etc. If you are unsure of how to respond - refer to that section of the documentation, then if you are still confused (it's likely) flip through the following pages where you'll find what worked for us. A complete set of working responses is included in this file to assist you in this complex phase of setup. 5 EXAMPLE ANSWERS TO CONFIG.EXE by pages [ ] PAGE ONE 1. YOUR FIRST NAME \ 2. YOUR LAST NAME \___ THESE *MUST* BE YOUR ANSWERS 3. REMOTE / 4. LOGON / 5. NONE - LOCAL PASSWORD NOT NEEDED 6. NOVICE 7. 0800 to 1700 - SUIT YOURSELF 8. NO 9. 1 (NO TO RINGBACK) 10. NO 11. YES 12. YES 13. OFF 14. 45 15. NO 16. 2 17. COM1 18. 2 19. 1 20. YOUR BOARD NAME When you have answered all of the questions on the page, press the F2 key to change to page two. This process is repeated using the next higher 'F-key' to increment the pages. [ ] PAGE TWO 21. 7 22. 0 23. 0 24. OFF 25. YES 26. YES 27. NO 28. 23 29. 19 30. YES 31. NO 32. YES 33. NO 34. NO 35. NO 36. IBM PC, XT, or AT 37. YES 38. 300 39. 180 40. NO 6 [ ] PAGE THREE 41. C: 42. BULLET 43. 6 44. BULLET 45. C 46. HELP0 47. C:NEWUSER 48. C:WELCOME 49. DIR 50. C:MENU1 51. C:MENU2 52. C:MENU3 53. C:MENU4 54. C:CONFENCE 55. C:TRASHCAN 56. 1 57. IBMPC 58. C 59. NEWFILES 60. C [ ] PAGE FOUR 61. C:MESSAGES 62. C:CALLERS 63. C:COMMENTS 64. C:USERS 65. YES 66. NO 67. YES [ ] PAGE FIVE 81. NO 82. C:MENU5 83. C:RCTTY.BAT 84. C:RBBS.BAT 85. C: 7 [ ] PAGE SIX 101. 0 102. 5 103. 10 104. C:FILESEC 105. 10 106. 10 107. 5 108. 10 109. NOTE: first respond NO when asked if all commands are to have the same security level. Then fill in the levels as illustrated here Bulletins 5 Operator 5 Comments 0 Personal 5 Doors 10 Quick Scan 5 Enter Msg 5 Read Msg 5 Files Sys 5 Scan Msg 5 Goodbye 0 Utilities 5 Help 0 View 5 Initial 5 Who's 5 Join 5 Xpert 5 Kill Msg 5 ? Funct. 5 Lines 5 110. NOTE: first respond NO when asked if all commands are to have the same security level. Then fill in the levels as illustrated here Download 5 Goodbye 0 Help 0 List files 5 New files 5 Quit to Main Menu 0 Search for string 5 Upload 5 Xpert 5 ? Xfer info 5 111. 5 112. C:PASSWRDS 113. 3 114. 5 115. 10 116. 0 117. 6 8 [ ] PAGE SEVEN 121. 1 122. IBM's DOS 123. INTERNAL 124. 512 125. 502 126. 100 NOTES: # of users permitted will be rounded to a multiple of 64. # of records in the MESSAGES file is roughly five times the number of active messages permitted ... SET OPTION 126, LET CONFIG SET 125. 127. --- LEAVE BLANK --- [ ] PAGE EIGHT 141. Although newly created, use this option to PACK the new MESSAGES file before running RBBS-PC. 142. Although newly created, use this option to REBUILD the new USERS file before running RBBS-PC. 143. DO NOT RUN -- NO RECORDS IN FILE! 144. DO NOT RUN -- NO RECORDS IN FILE! 145. DO NOT RUN -- NO RECORDS IN FILE! OPTIONS 143, 144, 145 WILL BE USED DURING REGULAR MAINTENANCE OF THE BOARD, BUT ARE NOT NEEDED AS THIS IS A TOTALLY NEW SYSTEM. 146. *NOT NEEDED FOR 1200 BAUD MODEM* [ ] PAGE NINE 161. YES 162. YES 163. YES 164. --- SEE ILLUSTRATIONS BELOW --- First, reply Yes to the change UPLOADs directory. THEN C:\RBBS\NEW when asked for path Config will ask you again, and again, and again, so... use the Enter to quit back to page nine, then enter 164 again. Respond NO this time to change UPLOADS, and YES to change DOWNLOADS directories. NOW! Respond with A for add then the pathname of a directory (you'll have to repeat this for each sub-directory to be accessed). An example list follows: C:\RBBS\NEW (The order of this list is ) C:\RBBS\ARCS (the sequence in which RBBS) C:\RBBS\MISC (will search them for files.) 9 YOU may use the L)ist option any time the prompt is displayed to verify the directories you've added so far. When you have added all of the desired DOS directories press the Enter key at the prompt to complete this section. [ ] Check that your modem's configuration switches have been set to the positions indicated in the docs (for Hayes 1200 external UUDDDUUD) or to the corresponding functions if not listed in the docs. This step can be tricky if your modem is not among those detailed int the documentation - even with the modem manual in hand. It is also critical to the proper operation of RBBS-PC. [ ] Press the 'End' key, respond 'YES' at the prompt and press Enter which will create a file named RBBS-PC.DEF in the current directory. During the execution of CONFIG.EXE it will have also created two additional files (one for the USER-BASE and one for the MESSAGE-BASE) using the names you specified, or USERS and MESSAGES if you accepted the defaults. [ ] Turn on your modem if external. [ ] Type RBBS and press Enter. You're on your way as a sysop! 10 ******************************************************************************* BULLET TEXT FILE ILLUSTRATION USING BULLETG ******************************************************************************* ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Bulletin Menu │ ├───┬──────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ # │ UPDATED │ SUBJECT │ ├───┼──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ 1 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #1 (BULLET1) │ │ 2 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #2 (BULLET2) │ │ 3 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #3 (BULLET3) │ │ 4 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #4 (BULLET4) │ │ 5 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #5 (BULLET5) │ │ 6 │ 01/01/80 │ TOPIC OF BULLETIN #6 (BULLET6) │ └───┴──────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ******************************************************************************* TEXT FILE ILLUSTRATIONS OF 'FILESEC', 'PASSWRDS', AND 'TRASHCAN' ******************************************************************************* FILESEC - the first three examples are protected internally by RBBS-PC from downloading even by the sysop, but make good examples anyway. C:\RBBS\*.DEF,10, Downloadable ONLY by security level 10's C:\RBBS\CALLERS,10,CTSA ONLY by security level 10's who know password CTSA C:\RBBS\COMMENTS,,CTSA Any security level who know password CTSA C:\COMM\*.*,,CTSA ALL files in \COMM protected requiring pswd. CTSA ******************************************************************************* PASSWRDS - This file permits control of logon durations by security level and a way of extending the current session by the user changing to a temporary password. ,5,45 all level 5's have 45 mins. LONGER,5,90 by using the TEMPORARY password LONGER 5's get 90 mins. ,6,60 all level 6's have an hour ,10,360 all level 10's have three hours NOTE: two commas are required on each line, passwords MUST be in uppercase, and each line must end with a carriage return. ******************************************************************************* TRASHCAN - this file contains a list (in UPPER case) of names which you do not wish to have as user names on your system. This could include foul language or anything you consider undesirable names. Each word has to be on a separate line and end with a comma. BITE, BYTE, GLADEATOR, THE, ******************************************************************************* 11 The following is a suggested 'layout' of the sub-directories and files which comprise RBBS. C:\ COMMAND.COM \DOS \RBBS RBBS.BAT RBBS-PC.EXE CONFIG.EXE WATCHDGx.COM MESSAGES USERS MENU0 MENU1 MENU2 MENU3 MENU4 MENU5 HELP01 HELP02 HELP03 HELP04 HELP05 HELP06 HELP07 HELP08 HELP09 WELCOME PRELOG (OPTIONAL) BULLET BULLET1 (HOWEVER MANY) DIR.DIR FILESEC PASSWRDS TRASHCAN CALLERS (WRITTEN BY RBBS-PC) COMMENTS (IF NOT USING COMMENTS AS MESSAGES WILL BE CREATED BY RBBS) \RBBS\NEW UPLOADS.DIR (Whatever your users upload will go here) \RBBS\TURBO TURBO.DIR (Turbo pascal source code files) \RBBS\UTILS UTILS.DIR (Utility programs you've found useful)