leif@ambush.UUCP (Leif Andrew Rump) (03/16/88)
The BBS society is growing, if not exploding, these years. Even in small countries like Denmark we see new BBS's pop up almost every day thanks to the (famous) people who made f.x. OPUS PD! But does OPUS, Fido, ... satisfy our needs or is it just that they are PD programs that make them so succesfull as they seem to be? (Before anybody send me hate-letters, let me note that I'm a Sysop myself on a OPUS BBS and I love it - really - but I'm missing something!!). I'm going to collect ANY ideas that can be used to make worlds best BBS! If YOU have: any ideas, know a system, hate a system, technical suggestions, anything, ... ... ... please let me know! PS: I'm NOT going to claim copyright (please laugh! :-) ) on any of the informations passed! On the contrary because I'm not sure that I am going to make WBBS myself ((c) Copyright 1988 by Leif Andrew Rump, All Rights Reserved - it happens everytime i write copyright!). I would jump in joy if I one day receive a BBS that please the user AND sysop in any way!!! I'm listening! Leif Andrew Rump alias ABC Sysop (+45 6 80 05 44, 24h, 300/1200)
blandy@oberlin.UUCP (isjimblandy) (03/19/88)
One of the things I'd like to see in a BBS (I'm not a sysop, but I've
seen a bad BBS and I'm a programmer) is some way of teaching the BBS
about different file formats and how to do the basic operations on
those new kinds of files.
Adapting to old formats isn't really the point. But if one BBS could
gracefully (no hacks, no rewriting) read its native files, AND handle
the files from your old BBS, AND, say, act as a USENET reader, all
transparently, I think that would be A Good Thing.
How?
First, choose a few simple, basic, powerful operations- organize the
boards in a hierarchy (sp?), define List, Up and Down operations, Get
a particular message, Add a particular message, Delete a message,
Access levels, etc. Write your BBS using ONLY this set of
operations.
Then, let each individual board indicate how IT likes to be accessed.
Maybe a jump table or something simple. Maybe a server process or
something complex. But as long as it provides as much of the above
list of operations as it can, you can do anything you like.
But the idea is this: your system DOESN'T CARE how the files are
organized. As long as it uses the functions provided for the
particular board, it can do everything it wants, and the files will
stay consistent, no matter how heterogenous your set of boards
actually are.
It's the idea behind object-oriented programming - you know that this
thing you've got supports a few simple operations, but you don't
worry about HOW; the thing in question can accomplish your requests
however it needs.
Extensible software - the way to go. Look at Emacs (certain
implementations), VAX TPU, Hypercard.
--
Jim Blandy /oo\ "Insects were insects when
OCMR Box 265, Oberlin OH 44074 /`--'\ man was just a burbling
sjb1392@oberlin.bitnet \_][_/ whatsit." - archy
...{ihnp4,bellcore}!oberlin!blandywcs@ho95e.ATT.COM (Bill.Stewart.<ho95c>) (03/25/88)
How about "UUCP + Netnews" ? - netnews gives you your BBS, and uucp can give you code distribution - create a directory /usr/spool/uucppublic/bbs, keep an up-to-date file called "index" in the directory, and set your uucp permissions so people can read it. You can either give people logins on your machine (possibly including "guest"), or set up a news distribution so you broadcast to them. If your users are PC-types, either get an Xmodem or Kermit for your UNIX machine, or have them use UUPC on their PCs. -- # Thanks; # Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 2G218, Holmdel NJ 1-201-949-0705 ihnp4!ho95c!wcs # So we got out our parsers and debuggers and lexical analyzers and various # implements of destruction and went off to clean up the tty driver...
root@conexch.UUCP (Larry Dighera) (03/28/88)
In article <2074@ho95e.ATT.COM> wcs@ho95e.UUCP (46323-Bill.Stewart.<ho95c>,2G218,x0705,) writes: >How about "UUCP + Netnews" ? - netnews gives you your BBS, and >uucp can give you code distribution - create a directory [...] >You can either give people logins on your machine (possibly including >"guest"), or set up a news distribution so you broadcast to them. >If your users are PC-types, either get an Xmodem or Kermit for your >UNIX machine, or have them use UUPC on their PCs. There currently exists in the public domain a BBS program written for Un*x that is completely openended. That is, it is possible to add any application to the BBS such as Usenet, your favorite Informix application, anything that can normally be done on your system. It is FREE. Here is how you can get a copy: There have been MANY requests on how to receive the source code for XBBS. The author's address is as follows: Sanford Zelkovitz Alpha Computer Svcs 5300 Orange Ave., suite 108 Cypress, California 90630 The telephone numbers are as follows: Voice: 714-828-0286 Data : 714-828-0288 The data line(s) can be accessed via uucp or direct call in ( XBBS ). To call in as uucp, login as nuucp without a password. The voice line is accessable from 7AM to 4PM PST. The site name is alphacm and can be reached thru the following paths: ..........!ihnp4!hermix!ucla-an!alphacm!{root, sandy} ..........!ucbvax!ucivax!mickey!alphacm!{root, sandy} ..........!microsft!sco!hermix!ucla-an!alphacm!{root, sandy} Larry Dighera -- USPS: The Consultants' Exchange, PO Box 12100, Santa Ana, CA 92712 TELE: (714) 842-6348: BBS (N81); (714) 842-5851: Xenix guest account (E71) UUCP: conexch Any ACU 2400 17148425851 ogin:-""-ogin:-""-ogin: nuucp UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucivax!icnvax!conexch!root || ...!trwrb!ucla-an!conexch!root