hargrove@olympus.SGI.COM (Mark Hargrove) (06/11/88)
Is anyone aware of any electronic conferencing or BBS systems that support a heterogenous UNIX/VMS environment? I would actually appreciate the names of any vendors of Electronic Conferencing systems that run on *either* UNIX or VMS. Does anybody actually have (and use) such a system? Thanks!
rusty@hodge.UUCP (Rusty Hodge) (06/17/88)
In article <15719@sgi.SGI.COM>, hargrove@olympus.SGI.COM (Mark Hargrove) writes: > > I would actually appreciate the names of any vendors of Electronic > Conferencing systems that run on *either* UNIX or VMS. Here is the poop on People-Net (P-Net) (edited for Television): What Is P-Net? P-Net is the finest computer-based conferencing and electronic mail software system available today. It operates in most Unix/Xenix environments. Users, however, need not be aware of or have any familiarity with the operating environment, or computers in general for that matter, as P-Net is effectively self-contained and does not depend on Unix from the user's perspective. Those familiar with Unix can be allowed 'shell access' from P-Net, if desired. P-Net is easy to operate and non-obtrusive to the communications environment. It is fully command driven, and there is plenty of help at any prompt or level if it is requested. Letters and messages are free- form, with no line limits or other constraints. Wordwrap is in effect during all composition, so it is very easy to produce clear, readable text, while concentrating only on the thoughts you wish to get across to a reader. P-Net's can be networked together via phone lines with various conference topics running in parallel on each system. That is, each P-Net in the network would receive each other's conference messages and post them in the proper order, maintaining topical 'threads' of conversation. This is a very effective way to provide low cost teleconferencing between points physically very far apart. Private electronic mail can be directed to a user on any P-Net in the network. Traffic can be 'queued' for immediate delivery to a target site, left for later delivery when the phone rates are low, or routed through other sites to the ultimate destination. P-Net can also take advantage of other networks as its communications transport. P-Net has been under development for over three years, being continually tested, expanded and improved during that time. Of course, expansions and improvements are a continuing effort based on our ideas and feedback from current users and customers. P-NET FUNDAMENTALS Host Computer P-Net software can be installed on a wide variety of Unix or Xenix machines. Its file system is located in a secure directory structure and is not accessible by regular Unix users. Only the system operator (or those given security clearance) have access to any of P-Net's file system. Any number of public and private conversations can be created as needed. Each conversation and topic within a conversation can be assigned a moderator who will be in charge of that particular discussion. The moderator has the power to add or delete participants (if the topic is private), delete or move messages that may not be appropriate to the current discussion, etc. A wide variety of topic types may be configured. A conversation may have any number of topics within it, and each topic may have its own moderator. A topic is a division, or separate subject, each within the domain of the conversation it is a part of. Each topic may have any number of messages and comments. Text is typed in by users in response, or comment, to any other message in that topic. Or, a new thread of messages may be started. Each message is marked with the user's name, date and time, message subject and number. Whether that message is a comment or has comments to it is also indicated. When read, messages and comments are displayed in the conversation order (comments to messages are read immediately following the original message) rather than sequentially by date (though sequential operation is an option). Because comments can be typed in at the user's convenience, and the parent (original) message is always referenced, more thought can be given to one's comments than is typical in face-to-face communication, yet information is exchanged much more rapidly than with correspondence using regular mail. Since the conversational thread is maintained, it is also possible for one who has just joined the proceedings to quickly come up to speed on the discussions thus far. P-Net allows many individuals at a variety of locations to carry on discussions asyncronously, that is, without having to connect to the computer at the same time. P-Net participants can join any topics to which they are permitted access, to read existing messages, and enter new messages and comments. P-Net uses its own built-in mail system for all private mail traffic. It allows multiple recipients, Carbon-Copies, Blind-Carbon-Copies and many other features. Incoming mail can be saved to disk (in your own private directory), forwarded to another user or users, or replied to. Private mail being sent can be composed online, loaded from disk, or both. A line editor is included for editing convenience. P-Net can communicate directly with other P-Net's or the Unix 'host' machine on which it is running. By providing the Unix gateway, P-Net's private mail system can exchange mail and files with other P-Net's, as well as with the world-wide uucp-net, Usenet, and other networks which gateway to those. It also understands pass-through traffic and site aliasing. Other Features - News Items can be posted for one-time display to each account holder when they log in. - Users are automatically notified when new private mail has been delivered to their mailbox. - A 'lounge' area provides a place for real-time chatting. Ideal for coordinated meetings when all parties needed are online at the same time. - Messages originating on another mail site can be delivered to an assigned topic just as if that person posted directly. - Private re-distribution lists can be maintained where mail sent to a particular P-Net account will be re-sent to all recipients in a list. - A file utilities section allows each user access to their personal and private file directory, and also provides uploading and downloading of files using a variety of protocols. Users may 'attach' to other user's directory (by permission only, of course) to share files and other information. - Files may be 'included' in mail to another P-Net account, causing that included file to be saved in the directory of the recipient. - A complete database of local users is maintained on each P-Net. A sorted list may be produced, or the list can be searched for various criteria. - Each user can have a 'resume' file which is displayed when information is requested by another account holder. It is free- form information voluntarily supplied at each account holder's discretion. - P-Net's command prompt changes according to which section you are in currently, and which section(s) from which you came. This display keeps you informed as to your 'position' within P-Net at all times. - Each account has a set of ID 'parameters' that tailors P-Net's operation to the requirements of that user. Such parameters are automatically placed into effect at log-on. Operating System Most versions of Unix and Xenix are supported, including BSD 4.2/4.3, SCO Xenix 286 and 386, MicroPort System V, and AT&T System V for the 3B1 (others coming). Storage Requirements Anywhere from 5mb to 20mb or more depending on number of accounts, topics, amount of traffic, etc. P-Net may be operated on a separate mounted file system, or as part of any other mount. Number of Users The number of users on any given system is limited only by the number of physical ports on the machine. It can be run as a login process, or invoked manually from a shell. Accounting and size control Full account usage accounting and inactive account expiring. Topic messages can be expired based on total topic size or number of messages. These are all done as background processes and need little or no intervention from the system operator. License Types A standard commercial single-site object code license is $2250. There is no extra cost regardless of the number of users on that site. Systems for which we do not currently provide object code versions of P-Net will require a source code license at $4500. There is a special pricing consideration of $550 for private non- commercial uses of P-Net, such as privately owned and operated Public BBS or Conferencing operations. All licensing is based on a single-site usage. Special multiple-site license pricing is available upon request. 5.2 Who To Contact For More Information For further information or inquiries, contact Robert Williamson: United Software Industries, Incorporated 8399 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Ste. #200 Canoga Park, CA 91304 818-887-5800 Email information and inquiries to Bill Blue: P-Net: pnet01!bblue ProLine:pro-sol!pnet01!bblue UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, ucsd, nosc}!crash!pnet01!bblue INET: bblue@pnet01.cts.com ARPA: crash!pnet01!bblue@nosc.mil ------------------ Sorry if that was too long. But you asked. :-> > Does anybody actually have (and use) such a system? Yes. MouseHole is a Macintosh users group (sponsored by MacTutor magazine) which you are welcome to call and try out. We've been running on P-net for about 2 months now. (714) 921-2252 12/2400. Login as 'pnet' and type 'none' for the BBS login. P-net can (of course) also be called as a standard program from a Unix login. Hope that helps. -- Rusty Hodge, HCR Inc, 1588 N. Batavia St. Orange, CA 92667 (714) 974-6300 rusty@hodge.cts.com [uunet vdelta crash]!hodge!rusty FAX (714) 921-8038
E7OPSUS@TOWSONVX.BITNET (07/28/88)
In reply to - From: Mark Hargrove <sgi!hargrove@UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU> >Is anyone aware of any electronic conferencing or BBS systems that >support a heterogenous UNIX/VMS environment? >I would actually appreciate the names of any vendors of Electronic >Conferencing systems that run on *either* UNIX or VMS. >Does anybody actually have (and use) such a system? There is an electronic conferencing system here which we use called CoSy (abbreviation for Computer Conferencing System) and is made by the University of Guelph. I know this system runs on either UNIX or VMS since we run it on VMS and the University of Maryland at Baltimore runs its on UNIX. For more information, you can contact Margaret Ellis at 519-824-4120, ext 3068. We are fairly happy with the system and have been using it for approximately 7 months. Your welcome. Susanne Rosenbaum Academic Computing Center Towson State University