mjb@raider.MFEE.TN.US (Mark J. Bailey) (02/15/89)
First of all, please excuse my cross-posting this so widely. It is just that the opinions we are seeking are needed from a wide spectrum. With that said.... We are seriously considering the idea of authoring a new bbs system for unix. Now I know you are quickly retorting "we've got several, why do we need another one?!" In that sense you are correct. But aren't there some feature(s) here and there that you don't see and would like to? What about look and feel? Are they "friendly" enough? Now before I go any further, let me first say that the systems that have gone before have had *MANY* hours of hard work put into them! The authors of these systems are to be commended for the time and effort they have so graciously volunteered. In no way am I trying to belittle the work they have done. So why? Well, why have two versions of Unix? Why have several versions of Lisp or EMACS? Because, people have different needs, different tastes, and no one system is everything to everybody, if it were, then where would the spirit of creation and innovation lie? We run a public access site here at raider. We have a BBS for non-aligned users from the DOS world. As SOME of you MAY feel, most unix bbs systems are VERY different from a DOS based bbses. For us, and we have looked at about ALL of them, non of the current systems really do what we want, nor do they fully satisfy our users. Why run a bbs if your local users don't like it? Our only alternative is to write our own. It is to have the look and feel of a DOS bbs (with color ansi graphics, curses, or plain dumb terminal interfacing). We are planning on developing a command language interpretter using yacc and lex. We are also taking our endeavor very seriously (we are educated in the fields of computer science and are well experienced in the computer industry). So you might ask "why are you telling me all this? Just post to comp.sources.unix when you are done and I'll be the judge!" Well, that is true too. But the jist of my posting here is to introduce our project to you and, MOST IMPORTANT, to solicit input from the Usenet community as to what you LIKE or DISLIKE in a unix based bbs system. DOS USERS: What DOS bbs features do you miss in unix bbses? How important is sysop utilities to aid in operation? What about installion? Size? Capacity? Usenet News capabilities? Suggestions for message and file systems? Etc. Etc. Etc. If you ever had a gripe about a unix bbs, please let us know. We are *NOT* trying to make a system that is everything for everybody! We are just trying to collect ideas and suggestions (and critisisms) to better enable us to produce something useful and worthwhile. No one likes to re-invent the wheel (although some will be necessary) or waste time on features that were poorly designed, or no one liked. I apologize for this being so long. We are just now beginning to research our wish list and wanted to get your opinions as well. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Please *EMAIL* responses, etc., to raider!project (project@raider.MFEE.TN.US) or raider!bbs (bbs@raider.MFEE.TN.US). Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Mark J. Bailey mjb@raider.MFEE.TN.US RaiderNet Pubilc Access
garnett@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (John Garnett) (02/16/89)
in article <88@raider.MFEE.TN.US>, mjb@raider.MFEE.TN.US (Mark J. Bailey) says: > Xref: killer pubnet.talk:1 pubnet.sysops:8 comp.unix.questions:1108 comp.sys.ibm.pc:28521 > Survey: What would you like to see (but haven't) in a unix bbs??? I would like to see a **ix bbs that allowed the option of logging in without going through all of the bbs-type menu's involved with a normal bbs. The **ix bbs's that I am familiar with do not allow a user's .profile to be changed because the .profile is used to start up the bbs menus. I don't know about other **ix users, but I like to customize my .profile to do what I want with it. --John Garnett
karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger) (02/17/89)
In article <7173@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> garnett@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (John Garnett) writes: >in article <88@raider.MFEE.TN.US>, mjb@raider.MFEE.TN.US (Mark J. Bailey) says: >> Xref: killer pubnet.talk:1 pubnet.sysops:8 comp.unix.questions:1108 comp.sys.ibm.pc:28521 > >> Survey: What would you like to see (but haven't) in a unix bbs??? > >I would like to see a **ix bbs that allowed the option of logging in >without going through all of the bbs-type menu's involved with a >normal bbs. The **ix bbs's that I am familiar with do not allow a >user's .profile to be changed because the .profile is used to start >up the bbs menus. I don't know about other **ix users, but I like >to customize my .profile to do what I want with it. No problem. AKCS has that capability; it's got an "akcsopt" file which is the moral equivalent of the .profile for shell users. Captive users sign on with a user login id and a password, just like you'd expect from a Unix (or any other timesharing) system. There's an option screen which has your .akcsopt parameters visible and accessible. You can change a great deal of the system behavior by editing this area, including message display format, pager choice(s), editor to use, your name, command and help display set, and much more. It may not be called a ".profile", but it serves the same function. We also have a ".plan" file so you can "identify" other bbs users (works like finger for shell accounts). (Disclaimer: I'm highly biased - we produce AKCS :-) -- Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, ddsw1!karl) Data: [+1 312 566-8912], Voice: [+1 312 566-8910] Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. "Quality solutions at a fair price"