ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º ÇÄ¿ º K E E P I N G I N T O U C H º ³ º ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ º ³ º SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter º ³ º for registered SPITFIRE Sysops! º ³ º October 1995 º ³ º Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE º ³ º Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496 º ³ º 28800 through 1200 Bps º ³ º 2 Nodes º ³ º º ³ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Edited by Jacque Shipley The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 57600 Bps Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede Roam This Fertile Land - (515) 288-8755 - 14400 Bps Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz Other Contributions As Noted ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Notes from the author of SPITFIRE! ÇÄ¿ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ SFNET International Hub ----------------------- ATTENTION - SFNET Area Code Hubs: As you should be aware, the hours of the SFNET International Hub are 10:30 pm to 7:00 am (Central Time Zone). I would like to ask your cooperation in placing your calls within such hours. I don't think there is a day that goes by when there isn't at least 1 SFNET call that comes in outside of such hours. Considering that phone line is used for other purposes during the day, those calls outside of such hours become a real nuiance in the Woltz home. In the event you missed your normal mail run, then we will be more than happy to put the SFNET International Hub up for you to call if you will just phone us voice and ask us to do so. I thank you so very much for your cooperation regarding this matter. SPITFIRE v3.51 -------------- I was able to spend some time this weekend working on SPITFIRE v3.51. I am not making any promise, however, it is my intention to get SPITFIRE v3.51 finished and released sometime during November. Frankly, it would have been finished a long, long time ago but the vast majority of my time is spent replying to messages rather than writing code. Until next time, smile on your brother, everybody get together and try to love one another. Best wishes... Mike Woltz ÉÍÍ[ John 3:3 ]ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Jesus answered, and said unto him, ÇÄ¿ º Verily, verily, I say unto thee, º ³ º Except a man be born again, he º ³ º cannot see the kingdom of God. º ³ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET! ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; SPITFIRE goes surfin'! That's right, SPITFIRE Sysops can now find SPITFIRE and the latest SF utilities on the Internet. October marked the debut of SPITFIRE Sysops, Ric Burlet and Tom Miller, arrival on the World Wide Web. Both web pages are a dedication, not only to their own BBS systems, but to the entire SPITFIRE project. SPITFIRE Sysops with Internet access will find these sites an excellent resource. SPITFIRE and SPITFIRE utilities are available for immediate download. Sysops will now be have the capability of keeping current with SF utilities, often by simply placing a call through their local Internet provider. TAKE A BYTE'S SPITFIRE BBS ON THE WEB ------------------------------------- We'll begin by visiting Ric Burlet's TaKe A ByTe SPITFIRE BBS web page. The address to reach our first Internet destination is: http://www.cris.com/~ricb The page header announces, "Download the Latest SPITFIRE utility's right here on the WEB". This is followed with a counter which shows how many times the web page has been accessed since October 7th and a brief description of the many features available from TaKe A ByTe BBS. The first HyperText link from the page lists the shareware version of SPITFIRE and a wide assortment of new SF utilities that are available for download from TaKe A ByTe's web site. The GIF shows a globe with the text 'SPITFIRE ON THE WEB' radiating from the globe. To download any file from the list, simply click on the file name to initiate the file transfer. The next link provides a list of the new files (from the last 10 days) which are available for download from TaKe A ByTe BBS. The third link lists the message conferences available on TaKe A ByTe BBS. The message conference list includes both the local message conferences and the SFNET message conferences. The last main link shows the CD-Rom disc that is currently online at TaKe A ByTe BBS and other discs that are available for requests. Next, the web page gives information about TaKe A ByTe BBS and the phone numbers for connecting directly to either of its two nodes. Visitors have the option of leaving Ric Burlet mail through the direct e-mail link available from TaKe A ByTe's web page. Netscape v1.22 can also be downloaded from the web page. Other activities include links to other Web HOT Spots such as The Whitehouse, Guide to Writing HTML, and Stock Market Quotes. Links to other Internet Resources include such sites as: PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites list, PC Magazine Home Page, Netsurfers Digest, USENET FAQs list, December Internet List, Lycos search, Providers of Commercial Internet Access, Archie PlexForm, Internet Resources List, as well as several other web sites. THE SWAMP THANG BBS - SPITT'N FIRE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB -------------------------------------------------------- Our next stop on our Internet journey is to Tom Miller's The Swamp Thang BBS web page. To arrive here, just use the following Internet address: http://www.swamp.com After connecting, an enchanting though somewhat eerie GIF of the Louisiana swamp lands welcomes you to the Swamp Thang BBS web page. The slogan Spitt'n Fire On The World Wide Web appears along with phone numbers to The Swamp Thang's three nodes within the swamp land picture. A counter reports what visitor number you are since 09/23/95. This is followed by a description of what this web site has to offer (explained more fully below), some general information about The Swamp Thang BBS and a detail of the system resources which are available on this BBS. The first HyperText link connects you to the SPITFIRE File Area. A graphic rendition of an old World War II SPITFIRE fighter plane appears at the header. Next, Tom extends a special thanks to Mike and Ann Woltz and their family, followed by a 'Bible' quote. Thank yous are also given to all the 3rd party programmers for their contribution in making SPITFIRE a 'top-shelf, easy-to-run software'. Individual files are not listed due to the number of files available from this site. However, a search tool is provided for entering a keyword which will search and display any files which correspond to the search text entered. Once files which match the search criteria are displayed, they can then be downloaded by clicking on the file name to begin the file transfer process. The second link displays the latest 'Keeping In Touch' SPITFIRE support newsletter. The next link relates to SPITFIRE's exclusive SFNet Mail Service. From here, both the latest SFNet Node List and SFNet Conference list can be viewed. The fourth link provides a means for obtaining SPITFIRE and/or SFNet support as well as providing feedback on the web site. It is possible from this link to directly e-mail the Sysop, the co-Sysop, and remote Sysops of The Swamp Thang BBS (which includes SFNet's Moderator of the Moderators Conference), SFNet's Secretary and the Webmaster. The fifth link, connects you to The Swamp Thang's ftp site, where SPITFIRE files can be either be uploaded or downloaded. All uploads go into the incoming directory. Below the public directory resides the SPITFIRE directory which contains the entire list of SPITFIRE files which are available for download from this site. A recent addition to this web page is the Guestbook, where visitors are encouraged to sign in and leave a comment to Tom. Comments from previous visitors can be viewed from here also. The web page also supports links to other sites which include Yahoo, Star Vector and Father of Shareware. Ric and Tom have pioneered putting SPITFIRE on the Internet. No doubt there will be more to come but these Sysops deserve a special thanks for laying the groundwork and for making SPITFIRE on the Internet a reality. Visit these web sites and let them know you appreciate their efforts in making SPITFIRE and SF utilities available on the information superhighway. Sysops from around the world now have a new avenue for keeping current with the latest SPITFIRE products and receiving help from one another. Thanks guys!! ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ CREATING YOUR OWN BBS WEB PAGE ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; I was just playing around to see if it could be done.. and believe it or not, it was easy. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) just uses simple codes to tell the remote how to display the text (or image). You can get really involved in it, or keep it REALLY SIMPLE. I've really enjoyed creating this page, as my contribution to the SPITTFIRE project.. and encourage (and will help) others to do the same. P.S. Any PC ARTISTS out there? or if anyone has SPITFIRE graphics, please mail them my way. (rburlet@neosoft.com) or (ricb@cris.com) OK... would you like to create one yourself... here's how it's done. THE MAKING OF A SIMPLE SPITFIRE WEB PAGE: ---------------------------------------- First, you will need to find an Internet provider that allows personal WEB pages. I have mine at cris.com, which really makes it easy to set up. At cris, while at the UNIX prompt simply type 'makewww' this will create a public_html directory and change all the necessary permissions to allow outside access to files in your public_html directory only (contact your service provider for info on how this is done at your site). Then create an HTML document called index.html and upload it to your public_html directory. (You can change the .htm extension to .html once you upload it by typing 'mv index.htm index.html'). Now when someone connects to your site by http://www.cris.com/~your user name, index.html will be displayed. ----------------------------------------- THE BARE BONES SFITFIRE WEB PAGE DOCUMENT: ----------------------------------------- * THE TITLE & HEADER AREA: ------------------------- Your SPITFIRE BBS on the WEB - title only, not displayed.

Your SPITFIRE BBS on the WEB

- this is the BIG HEADER. Welcome to the world of HTML. - text in the document. This is a BOLD paragraph.

- BOLD text can be turned on And this one is NOT.

with , & off with . * LINKING TO OTHER DOCUMENTS: ---------------------------- SPITFIRE DOWNLOADSDownload SF Utils here! - this line will create a clickable area (SPITFIRE DOWNLOADS) that will display sffiles.html to the user. You can create that manually, but I would suggest for now to use BBS2HTML and SF2HTML (Available at Buffalo Creek) * IN-LINE IMAGES: ---------------- - this line will display SPITFIRE.GIF to the user. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are interested in creating your own page, I would recommend reading the INTERNET PEARLS Beginners Guide to HTML, which I will upload to Buffalo Creek BBS as IPERLS24.ZIP. You may also want to grab BBS2HTML, SF2HTML and SFBBSWWW.ZIP which contain all the files needed to convert SFFILES into an HTML document and has some examples and HELP TEXT. Hope this helps someone... Article contributed by Ric Burlet (ricb@cris.com) TaKe A ByTe BBS A0504002 http://www.cris.com/~ricb (504) 392-9604 393-9633 ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Michael MacAfee Mac's Place BBS 602-241-0256 I was both surprised and honored to receive a call from Mike Woltz telling me I was selected for SPITFIRE BOTM. I am not quite sure what it is that I have done to deserve this recognition but it really makes my day! My first computer was a Commadore 64 with a cassette deck. It was around 1978-79 and I remember spending hours upon hours typing in those magazine programs line by line. I hit the big time when I purchased a Commodore 128 with a disk drive, (had to use a paper punch to get to use both sides of a disk), and it had 1 meg cartridge for extra memory. I finally graduated to an IBM Clone 8086 and a local Sysop, Robbie Robinson, talked me into trying out SPITFIRE. I have been with it since and have no intentions of changing. I now have 2 nodes operating SPITFIRE, (one under OS/2) and both nodes support 28.8 bauds with over a Gig of files, not counting the 2 CD-Rom Drives. Both systems are 486 DX4 100mhz and have been very reliable for the past year. I am a Criminal Investigator for the State of Arizona Attorney Generals Office and am in charge of Computor Forensics. Often I will have to access my Board from other locations within the State for files needed to complete an investigation. SPITFIRE has never let me down. I have demonstrated its features to both State and Federal Agencies and highly recommend it for its ease of operation and dependability. It has not always been easy. I have gone through the drive crashes, the modem fries, and a good deal of cross linked files. I wouldn't change for anything. The SPITFIRE support is the best around. I can't begin to mention all the people who have helped me in keeping this system going, and a lot of thanks to Mike Woltz in making a great system even better. ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Bob Hindal Bear facts ][ (515) 287-2008 FidoNet: 1:290/26 XeroNet: 131:5150/100 CNFDNet: 169:515/7 Once upon a time, many, many years ago, in a land far, far away... (Oops! Wrong story!) I guess the best place to begin would be the beginning, huh? (It really gets confusing if you start in the middle or near the end.) It all started back in 1987 with a brand new AST 286 and a 300 baud modem. There was this new craze out there and I wanted in on it from the beginning. (That was the time that they said we would never need any more than 640K and 40 Meg in hard disk space, remember?) After getting my first (and definately my last) 2400 baud modem, I thought I had a system that would have made NASA jealous. I made a call to my first BBS one night and that happened to be Buffalo Creek. As a matter of fact, I got a personnal phone call from Mike Woltz that night. (I won't go into details, but let's just say that I learned a very valuable lesson on calling boards then. ) After talking with Mike Woltz for a short time, I was in awe, I guess you could say. I mean, I was actually talking to someone who, as far as I was concerned, knew more about these machines than I ever thought I would be able to grasp on to. He was doing things with computers back then that I didn't even know could be done. For some strange reason, unbeknownst (I think I hurt myself with that one, Jacque!) to me, Mike and I hit it off right away. That's where I got the bug! (Don't worry, that bug is gone now. I don't have any more of them on my system.) After talking with Mike a few more times, I decided to register SPITFIRE and give putting up a BBS a shot. That was the best $35 investment I ever made. The more I talked to Mike, the more I learned and the more I WANTED to learn. I remember many a night talking to Mike on the phone about SPITFIRE and beta testing all the new additions and changes he had been making during the early days and that he still continues to make to this day. Just when you think it can't get any easier to operate and configure, he adds even more to it to make it what it has become today. Still the best value of any BBS software for the money. Around the first part of the year in 1988, U.S. Robotics came out with the USR Courier 9600 Baud modem. Through the SysOp deal that USR was offering then, I purchased their new modem and was on my way. I was now at 10 Mhz on a 286 with 2 Meg of memory and a 9600 baud modem. Next to Mike's BBS, I had one of the fastest systems in Des Moines. (Back then, that was a pretty big deal for someone who had no idea what he was doing.) I put up my first BBS called Bear Facts with the help of Jacque Shipley (now the SysOp of The Mother Board BBS in Grimes, Iowa). As my Co-SysOp at the time, she brought alot of new ideas and personality to the BBS. I have never thanked her properly for all that she taught me along the way. Thanks, Jacque!! After running the board for a few months, I had to take Bear Facts down in June of 1988, due to personal things happening in my life at the time. I was raising 2 boys alone (ages 6 and 7) and in the middle of all of this, I never forgot everyone who had helped me to get to where I was back then with the BBS. I called Mike again in 1993, after staying in contact with him since the beginning, and talked to him about getting back into the BBS scene. Everything had seemed to straighten out in my life and I was ready to give it another whirl. I started out again helping Mike to answer messages on his board at the time as part of the Spifire Technical Support Team. He loaned me a 286 Packard Bell Computer with a 40 Meg Hard Drive and a 2400 USR modem. Shortly after that I bought a Zoom 14400 modem and decided to try running a BBS again. I started messing with SPITFIRE again and couldn't believe the changes it had gone through since I last operated it in 1988. That was the first time I had ever dealt with doors for SPITFIRE. It terrified me to think I would have to learn it all from scratch. It took me about 20 minutes to realize why I started using SPITFIRE in the first place. It was as easy to learn then as it ever was and still is. Slowly, but surely, I have continued to add to the BBS to get where I am at today. Bear Facts ][ is now running on a self-built APEX Pentium 120 Mhz with 4 850 Meg Conner Hard Drives, 2 CD-Roms (which I am still in the process of putting on-line), an Iomega Zip Drive (100 Meg) and 32 meg of memory running under Windows '95. I have 2 nodes (one local at the present time). I will be adding another node soon. I am also the IZC of Xeronet, a net I started over a year ago that is dedicated solely to programming support. It is a network that allows programmers to support their software and where callers can talk to the programmers directly without having to figure out how to get ahold on them. It is still small but growing continuously. I have always held one idea in mind that Mike taught me years ago. I have always run Bear Facts ][ the way I, myself, would like to see a BBS run if I was calling out as often as I used to in the early days. It doesn't matter the qauntity of callers to a BBS as what the quality of that BBS is. You can't please everyone all the time, no matter how hard you try or what you do to attract callers. I would much rather have 100 great callers than 400 not-so- great callers, if you know what I mean. I will continue to strive to be the best SPITFIRE SysOp that I can be. I would like to thank Mike, once again, for writing SPITFIRE and allowing me to be his friend and teaching me what it takes to become a SPITFIRE SysOp. And I would also like to thank Jacque, (once again, again ) for all that she has helped me to learn about the world of being a SysOp. The other people I would like to thank include Ross Cassell (for all the times he listened to my suggestions and comments for programs), Jon Goering (who taught me as much as I ever taught him), Della Moore (who's bright and spunky attitude has always made for brighter moments in message reading ), David Koons (who is my partner in J.A.M. Entertainment Software and a very close and crazy friend), Dennis Spencer (for his friendship and understanding in more ways than he'll ever possibly know), Richard Sleegers (a fellow programmer who I continually learn from and appreciate for being there), Tim Ward (another fellow programmer who has become my friend and writes many SPITFIRE utilities which I will always envy him for ) and everyone else who I have talked to and dealt with since becoming a Spifire SysOp, one of the Elite! Now, as my final plug , I have just realeased my first attempt at writing a SPITFIRE utility that was originally written for my personal use, but released after getting a few requests for it. It is called BFSI2.ZIP and can be downloaded from the Mother Board BBS or Buffalo Creek's BBS. It can also be downloaded or F'REQed from Bear Facts ][ also. The magic name is BFSI for all of you with front-end mailers. It is a simple program the gives you a system info screen for your BBS. It will tell you if the SysOp is available for chat, the last caller to the BBS, total callers, downloads for the day, etc. If you are interested, check it out and please let me know what you think of it. Thanks for reading through all of this dribble and rambling and remember, we all belong to one of the best families on earth! The SPITFIRE family! Take care... ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems: Get A Life!...................................201-731-6416...28800 BPS Marc Gaylen, Sysop..................................Avenel, New Jersey The Mud Run::FSI;BBS..........................504-344-0450...14400 BPS Bryan Kelly, Sysop..............................Baton Rouge, Louisiana Clutch City BBS...............................713-398-9191..115200 BPS Ryan Evans, Sysop..........................................Katy, Texas Higher Magnitude..............................916-273-7945...14400 BPS Charlean Andes, Sysop.........................Grass Valley, California The Stop Spot BBS.............................705-495-0718...14400 BPS Willie Simmonds, Sysop......................North Bay, Ontario, Canada Proton........................................702-655-0246...28800 BPS Albert Ficklin, Sysop................................Las Vegas, Nevada The Late Night BBS............................219-436-5448...38400 BPS Mark Smith, Sysop..................................Fort Wayne, Indiana The Action Center.............................606-331-9590...28800 BPS Chad Longbons, Sysop........................Crescent Springs, Kentucky The File Box..................................414-686-0663...28800 BPS Jon Reif, Sysop...................................Manitowoc, Wisconsin PSI Environmental.............................901-794-3164...28800 BPS PSI, Inc., Sysop....................................Memphis, Tennessee Downtown at the beach BBS.....................803-626-7202...28800 BPS Tom Smith, Sysop..........................Myrtle Beach, South Carolina The Abyss.....................................501-932-8494...19200 BPS Josh Bowman, Sysop.................................Jonesboro, Arkansas Skil-Tec BBS..................................519-745-5347...14400 BPS Dieter Iden, Sysop..........................Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Central BBS...................................903-793-3638...14400 BPS Glenn Willing, Sysop..................................Texarkana, Texas In addition, there are 2 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems registered. These private SPITFIRE BBS were registered to Sysops in: East Moline, Illinois; and Davie, Florida. There are 4 registrations for whom registration information was incomplete. These included BBS's in: Jonesboro, Arkansas; Burlington, Massachusetts; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Wahiawa, Hawaii. The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's policy of accepting on-line Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations. JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions! Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS or The Mother Board BBS.