info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (11/16/84)
From: Alexander B. Latzko <LATZKO@RU-BLUE.ARPA> Gentlefolk, Please accept my apologies for tardiness in this posting. I took ill and it has taken me a while to dig out of the pile . Many thanks to all who replied to my original request. All who sent submissions have been written to outside this missive. It looks like the VMS mailer is not as universally loved as it could be and should probably be augmented or replaced. The entries herein have been heavily edited for space. The content of messages hasn't been changed. many thanks alex <latzko@ru-blue> !allegra!ru-blue!latzko ******************************************************************************* Date: 10 Oct 1984 1108-EDT From: Reed B. Powell <POWELL at DEC-MARLBORO> I believe that there is someone at Stanford (I'd recognize the name but cannot remember it) who has an MM for VMS. It was used as an example of converting TOPS20 MACRO to VMS C, if I remember correctly, and looked just like TOPS20 MM. Consider me interested in your findings, by the way! thanks, -reed /* I'm not sure but I think it is Dave Kashtan as referenced below abl*/ 10-Oct-84 12:55:41-EDT,599;000000000011 Date: Wed 10 Oct 84 09:59:32-PST From: David L. Kashtan <KASHTAN@SRI-IU> Subject: Re: mailers and bboards I have about 80% completed VAX-MM (an exact clone of MM on the -20). If you are interested, I could put you on the list of potential test sites. David 10-Oct-84 13:11:25-EDT,696;000000000011 Sender: TLI@USC-ECLB From: Tony Li <Tli@Usc-Eclb> To: "Alexander B. Latzko" <LATZKO@RU-BLUE.ARPA> Subject: mailers and bboards How goes it? We were looking for the same thing quite a while ago, and just couldn't find one. So we're writing our own. Interested? Anyhow, we're currently working on a mailsystem which will talk to DEC-20 MM, and the entire setup is modeled on MM. To do this properly, we've had to build the funcionality of Tops-20 (including escape completion!), which is quite a large job. As you might imagine, this isn't quite finished yet, but a first pass is working, and does seem to provide most of the necessary functionality. I'd be interested in anything that you manage to turn up. We'd be happy to stop re-inventing the wheel if someone has beat us to the punch. Cheers, Tony ;-) From: RAY@SRI-KL.ARPA Alexander, I have written an extended version of the DEC mail program that has most of the functionality of MM on TOPS20. Some of the highlights. o It is compatible with DEC's mail program - commands available in MAIL are still there and the mail file is not munged so that MAIL can't read it. o Ranges have been implemented. I.E. DELETE 1:10 Range modifiers include: /FLAGGED, /DELETED, /FROM, /SUBJECT, /NEW, /AFTER, /BEFORE, /SINCE. o DELETE doesn't take affect until you EXIT or EXPUNGE there is also an UNDELETE command. o Read Mode implemented. It has VMS flavor, i.e. READ/FROM RAY /SUBJ "TCP/IP" - read messages with string RAY and subject with string TCP/IP. Pauses after each message in range for action. o Send Mode implemented. Similar to TOPS20. commands include REMOVE, ERASE, EDIT, BCC, CC, TO, SUBJECT, DISPLAY, HELP, DAYTIME, PUSH. o Handles both DECNET and ARPANET style addresses. Uses the EUNICE (Kashtan) SMTP interface to do Arpanet sends. Also, duplicate names are only sent once. o Init files have been implemented. These are the things that I can think of off the top of my head. Some of the standard Mail commands have been enhanced, i.e. HELP. The program is derived from DEC's Mail program and is written in BLISS and MACRO. Let me know if you are interested. Ray From: Bob Larson <BLARSON@ECLD.#ECLnet> USC decided the same thing and decided to write one. It is nearing completion (does not yet support the edit command) and uses decnet to talk to other vaxes and Tops20 machines. Unfortuatly USC (a private non-profit university) has restrictive policies about both selling and giving away such things. Perhaps you could sponsor a research project? At the time we were considering writing this there was another such program announced but not available. If you have further questions on it, or have serious interest in buying it, send mail to me (Blarson@usc-ecl) and I'll forward it to the appropriate person. Bob Larson <BLarson@Usc-Ecl> ------- From: Walt <Buehring%ti-csl.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> One pointer I can offer is the VMS Mail Router software -- it provides a way to interface other user agents/networks to VMS mail (with effort). We have it here but no one has had enough time to look at it closely. It obviously won't give you what you want by itself, but it's a start. Date: 23 Oct 84 00:37 +0100 From: Tommy_Ericson__QZ%QZCOM.MAILNET@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA Here is one more answer on the topic: No, we don't have a BBoard program, but we have something more capable - we have PortaCOM, a portable teleconferencing system. Portable: currently running on UNIVAC 1100, VAX/VMS, soon to come up on IBM VM/CMS and MVS/TSO, plus a number of others. Some 95-odd percent is written in Pascal, the rest is OS interface. Teleconferencing: you will get both Mail, Conferencing and BBoarding facilities, a very flexible tool actually. Using the conferencing concept is equivalent to having an automatical sorting of all of your incoming messages, thus helping you stay "within the topic" much easier. There is a lot more to be said, please give me a note if you are interested in further details. Best regards, - Tommy -------