"Donald E. Kimberlin" <0004133373@mcimail.com> (04/13/91)
In article <telecom11.281.3@eecs.nwu.edu> leryo@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Leryo Malbito) writes: > Would anyone know how one could set up a data conference using > three-way calling?... Our Moderator replied: > [Moderator's Note: You cannot do what you want. The modem has only two > conditions.... In Digest 11, Issue 286, Andy Sherman <andys@ulysses.att.com> offered a possibility: > certain types of data conference calls can be set up, but the > cost is probably too high for BBS'ing. ... AT&T's Alliance(tm) > Teleconferencing service has some kind of bridge modem set up to allow > graphics to be shared by multiple sites. ... This brought our Moderator to suggest: > [Moderator's Note: ... be the CB Simulator program on Compuserve. ... > Instead of a direct link between modems ... each party transmits to > a central computer, and that computer then parcels everything back out > again, usually instantly or nearly so. PAT] If acccomplishing such a computer conference is *not* mandated using three-way telephone calling, and if you have a PC with hard drive available, the PC BBS software called TBBS provides such a CB-like function to multiple callers. It's done by writing each incoming message to the BBS' hard disk, then broadcasting that message back out to all parties connected at the time. The obvious drawback to small operators is, of course, a serial port, modem and dial line for each connected participant. If, however, this is not a problem, TBBS might well suffice. I'm not aware of how TBBS is distributed, but a scan of BBS's in most any major city will find one or more BBS's using TBBS, and of course, one can then ask its Sysop for a source of the software (and if you want hardware for multi ... and I mean MULTI, for some have dozens of lines ... modem ports). [Moderator's Note: This is a good opportunity to introduce everyone to Phil Becker, author of the TBBS software. Becker, of Aurora, CO, wrote <T>he <B>read <B>oard <S>ystem originally (1980) as a single line BBS package for the Radio Shack computers of that era. He revised it many times during the early and middle 1980's to include newer Radio Shack machines such as the Model 4 (I think) and the IBM PC. He expanded TBBS into multi-line versions, capable of handling 8, 16 or 32 line BBS programs. The success of Compuserve's CB Simulator was apparently the reason Becker chose to incorporate it in later versions of TBBS. I helped with beta-testing of a couple versions of multi-line TBBS which were installed here with a local sysop. About 1985 or so, Becker added the software necessary for TBBS to interface with FIDO and participate in that international mail and newsgroup (Fido calls them 'echomail conferences') network. I'd strongly recommend TBBS to anyone starting a multi-line BBS. (I wish *I* had the money and phone lines here to do it!) PAT