ESCAUT10.TXT v1.0 (updated 06/12/95) The ESC File Distribution Service. Author Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for your interest in participating in this venture. We feel that it provides a very valuable distribution service for our ESC authors, taking over where the ESC services end. First of all, let us make a few things absolutely clear before wasting any of your valuable time: 1) The submission of files for distribution via this service is reserved for ESC Author/Publisher members ONLY. You must be a current ESC member in good standing in order to participate in this service. 2) This is *NOT* an ESC-Sponsored project. It is a private endeavour, and not officially sponsored or funded by the ESC in any way. Now, with all that out of the way, we can get on to the other stuff. THE TECHNOLOGY -------------- Your file(s) are submitted either electronically or on floppy disk to the ESC FDN administration site. From that point, they are processed and copies are fed to the Planet Connect satellite system, and also to the FidoNet Filebone system. Your single disk has the potential of reaching virtually thousands of BBSs and other distribution services within days (sometimes hours) of it being received at the HQ site. Your program is also then uploaded to the various optional online services such as CompuServe, ZiffNet, etc., giving your product even more exposure. THE REQUIREMENTS ---------------- The author submission requirements for participation in The ESC File Distribution Service are fairly minimal and straight forward. While they are simple, they are also necessary and strictly enforced. 1) Your file must submitted be in archived format. While you are free to use any of the standard archive formats (ZIP, ARC, ARJ, LZH, etc), be advised that the network processing *will* convert your archive to PKZIP v2.04g format. (NOTE: If your ZIPd files contain a valid PKZIP Authenticity Verification stamp, we will *not* rearchive the files, thus leaving your AV stamp intact). 2) Your file must contain a valid, properly formatted FILE_ID.DIZ file. 2a) You should also be advised that this network will support the VENDINFO concept (created by H. Rudy Ramsey) when it is released and in wide-spread use, and the ESC FDN Service reserves the right to also require the VENDINFO file format at some point in the future. A suitable grace period will be allowed. We *strongly* urge that you take advantage of the Vendinfo system! 3a) You *MUST* send your files on disk (any format accepted, 720k preferred), -or- 3b) Files may be submitted electronically, provided that the author is able to pay the fees via credit card (MasterCard/Visa). Files may be submitted via CompuServe email, or uploaded directly to our support BBS. 4) Your submission must include the necessary network processing fees. There is a "basic" fee of $15 per program, which covers the actual processing of the file into the network, plus any additional multi-part submission or optional service surcharges. 4a) Multi-file programs (i.e. programs that are distributed as more than 1 compressed file) will be charged an additional $5/file for each additional file. For example, if your program is distributed as 3 compressed files, the fee would be the basic $15, plus an additional $10 for the additional 2 files. The total cost for the "basic" network distribution would be $25 for all 3 files. Please note that we *strongly* discourage the use of multi-part filesets. 4b) If your file contains a valid VENDINFO.DIZ file, you may take a $5 discount from the above basic fee, thus reducing the "basic" fee back down to $10. 4c) In addition to the basic network distribution, we also offer a variety of other "optional" services, which *may* require additional fees. The fees for these additional services are outlined below. Credit Card payments (VISA/MasterCard) are accepted. If you wish to use this form of payment for the processing fees, simply fill out and sign the credit card information block at the bottom of the form. Be *sure* that you fill in the "TOTAL ENCLOSED" portion of the form, so there is no confusion about the amount that will be charged to your credit card. 5) Your distribution license *must* grant blanket distribution rights for all BBS systems, so that our BBS participants are assured that they have rights to freely distribute any files received via this network on their BBS systems. ------------ RESTRICTIONS ------------ Authors who submit programs for distribution via the various services provided by the ESC FDN Service must be aware that our services have the potential of being distributed internationally. Do not submit programs or materials that are restricted in distribution by the United States Government or restricted in distribution by copyright laws. By submitting your products to the ESC FDN Service, you assume the responsibility of your products being distributed so widely and freely. The submitting author is responsible for insuring that submitted files do not violate any of the following restrictions or requirements: 1) NO Pornography (pictures or text). 2) NO Government restricted encryption. 3) NO Marketing schemes for retail products or services masquerading as 'shareware'. 4) NO Shareware products which are marketed as "retail" products in other countries. 5) NO Programs or information intended for illegal uses. ------------------- THE SUBMISSION FORM ------------------- We realize that many of you may be thinking that this is yet another needless submission form. However, we feel that the form is necessary in order to provide a proper audit trail of all submissions, as well as being necessary for the various distribution permissions (and signatures) required for some additional services. Please accommodate us by completing the form. Think of it this way - by your editing, printing, and submitting of this single form along with your file, your file will be posted for downloading by virtually hundreds of BBS systems throughout the world, as well as being distributed via additional services. AUTHOR INFORMATION SECTION: --------------------------- The Author information (name, address, phone number, etc) must be provided so that we have a way to contact you in the event of a problem. Please be sure to list your complete mailing address. If you have a CompuServe account, then you should also include your CIS ID. Likewise, you should list your INTERNET address if you have one. Any FidoNet or RIME network address may be listed here as well. All of this information will be for network use *only* and will be considered confidential. SUBMITTED FILE(S) INFORMATION SECTION: -------------------------------------- This section describes the program, and its associated distribution files. The first item is for the actual distribution archive filename(s). If your program is to be distributed on normal BBS systems as a multi-file set, then each filename of the set should be listed. NOTE: this section is *NOT* for listing multiple programs, but only for listing multiple distribution files for the same program. Each separate "program" that you submit requires a separate submission form. IMPORTANT: The filename(s) *must* be unique for this particular release. Unlike Compuserve, each file distributed via this network (or BBSs in general, for that matter) must have a unique filename. This filename must be different from that of a previous release, or the processing software will interpret it as a duplicate of the previous one. Also, be aware that the filename(s) that you use for this distribution can not be used again in the future. This is just one reason that we recommend including the program version number as a part of the distribution filename. Following that is a section which allows you to define the associated file name for your product if it is to be uploaded to the PCNET (formerly known as IBMNET) and/or ZENITH forums on CompuServe, and/or the PBS forums on ZiffNet. The use of these CompuServe-based services had a few special restrictions and requirements: 1) Only 1 single file is allowed for uploading to the PCNET, ZENITH, and ZIFFNET/PBS services. ZiffNet will no longer accept multi-part files. While the PCNET forums will *accept* multi-part files, they actually prefer single files. As such, we have decided to only allow single files for our distribution to these services. If your normal BBS product is distributed as a multi-part fileset, and you wish to also use our CompuServe-based uploading services, then you must also include the additional "single file" archive on your submission disk, in addition to the multi-part fileset. (If your BBS distribution file is also a single ZIP archive, there is no need to supply a separate archive for CIS/ZNT - we'll simply use the BBS file with the CIS/ZNT name) 2) The filename used for this option *must* be generic (i.e. it cannot include any reference to the product version number. Most CIS-based forums frown on version numbers in filenames, and ZiffNet will no longer accept files with version number references in the filenames. If these requirements and restrictions present a problem for you, or if you don't agree with this policy, then simply say "N" to these distribution options, and upload to those services directly. Remember - If you elect to use the PCNET, ZENITH, or ZIFFNET/PBS options, *and* your normal product is a multi-part fileset, please *also* include the single distribution file on your disk for distribution to those CIS/ZNT based services. The next portion provides information which will be used to create an online file description for use by the automated processing software. This information will be provided to the BBS system (via software) to allow for unattended processing and immediate online availability of your file. This particular description is provided as a benefit for those systems which do not make use of the FILE_ID.DIZ description file. The online description will be created by combining the information from fields A, B, and C, and will automatically include an marker as a part of the Title. Here is a sample of the format that will be used: MY PROGRAM v1.2 - A unique utility that clears hard drive space. Multiple file sets will also include an appropriate file number indicator, such as "(1of2)". (NOTE: This will be added by us - do not include it on your form) The software is somewhat limited in total description length, and the network coordinators may edit your description accordingly if the combined length of the fields exceeds the limits. We realize that this short description may be inadequate to fully describe your program, but we emphasize that this description is *only* provided for those systems which do *NOT* make use of FILE_ID.DIZ. Be sure to actually *describe* your program, as opposed to *advertising* it (i.e. don't "hype" the program via the description). Following that is a field for you to provide KEYwords for your product. These keywords should be separated by spaces, and not commas. This field is only necessary if you have selected any of the PCNET, ZENITH, or ZIFFNET/PBS uploading options. After the program description information, you must select a product category for your program. The files will be distributed in the following categories: Category: Topic: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ESC-MATL ESC Materials (official ESC use only) ESC-TCHA Teaching Aids ESC-LRNA Learning Aids (study guides and plans, test preparation, skill building) ESC-ARTS Arts (fine arts, applied arts, performing arts) ESC-BUS Business (economics, finance, occupations) ESC-CIVC Civics (government, law, politics) ESC-SSCI Social Sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy) ESC-MATH Mathematics ESC-HIST History ESC-SCI Sciences (astronomy, biology, earth sciences, medicine, engineering, physics) ESC-LNGE Language Arts - English ESC-LNGI Language Arts - International ESC-LEIS Leisure & Recreation (home, hobbies, sports, entertainment) ESC-RLGN Religion ESC-COMP Computer Skills/Programming ESC-OTHR Other (use this category *ONLY* if your product does not fit into any other category) You *MUST* select a category (and only 1 category) for your file. The network will not be responsible for selecting the category for you. However, we do reserve the right to change a category if we feel an alternate category would be more appropriate for the file. PREVIOUS VERSION INFORMATION SECTION: ------------------------------------- This section is provided so that you can specify a previous version BBS filename of your program, which is to be removed from distribution. You *MUST* legally own the rights to any filename that you list here. In some cases, the file listed here will be automatically removed by the software, if the sysop has enabled this option. You must specify only the distribution archive filename of the file that you want removed (i.e. the software can only handle filenames, not program names). This filename *MUST* be different from the filename that you are submitting for distribution, and can not contain "wildcards". (NOTE: the current processing software will only process a *single* filename, so be sure to list only your most recent version to be removed). ------------------------ BASIC NETWORK SUBMISSION ------------------------ The basic service includes automatic distribution to: 1) the Planet Connect satellite system, which distributes the files to well over 1,000 BBSs in North America, 2) the Pagesat satellite system, which distributes the files to well over 500 BBSs in North America, 3) BBS systems via the FidoNet Filebone system, which distributes files world-wide via FidoNet BBS systems ------------------------- OPTIONAL SERVICES OFFERED ------------------------- We offer a variety of additional distribution services that you may optionally select. Some of these optional services may require additional fees. Since these additional fees may be based on the size of the files being distributed, it may be more economical for authors to distribute directly to these services. However, these optional services may be worth the additional expense in terms of convenience, as you only need to mail a single disk to a single site, and then have the files distributed to all of the various distribution services that you have selected. Please note that these additional services are "optional", and do not affect the basic distribution of your files via the ESC FDN Service in any way. You can choose to participate in any of them, all of them, or none of them, and still use the services of the ESC FDN. 1) Submission to an INTERNET FTP Site ------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will automatically provide your file(s) directly to our Internet service provider. Once there, your file(s) will be available to anyone on the Internet, via ftp request to ftp.secret.com. Files will be maintained on this service for a full year, unless they are replaced by a newer release. This is a surcharged service, and the fees are based on your ZIP archive file sizes, according to the following schedule: Files of 0 - 1024Kb (0,000,000 - 1,048,576 bytes) are charged $ 7.50 Files of 1025 - 2048Kb (1,048,577 - 2,097,152 bytes) are charged $15.00 Files of 2049 - 3072Kb (2,097,153 - 3,145,728 bytes) are charged $22.50 Files of 3073 - 4096Kb (3,145,729 - 4,194,304 bytes) are charged $30.00 Upload to CompuServe/ZiffNet based online services -------------------------------------------------- The following 3 optional services are all "uploaded" services to various CompuServe and/or ZiffNet online forums. In an effort to simplify the fee structure, we merely charge a flat $5 fee for the use of any/all of these 3 services. You may select all 3, or any combination of the 3, for a single $5 charge. 2) Upload to the PCNET (formerly IBMNET) Forum Libraries -------------------------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will automatically upload your file(s) directly to the PCNET forum libraries on CompuServe. Please note that our policy requires only a single file for this service, even if a multi-part fileset is being submitted for "normal" BBS distribution. Also, the filename for this file must be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). 3) Upload to the ZENITH Forum Libraries --------------------------------------- If you select this option, we will automatically upload your file(s) directly to the ZENITH forum libraries on CompuServe. Please note that our policy requires only a single file for this service, even if a multi-part fileset is being submitted for "normal" BBS distribution. Also, the filename for this file must be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). 4) Submission to Ziff-Davis Interactive Services ------------------------------------------------ If you select this option, we will automatically send your file(s) directly to the Ziff-Davis Interactive "Author Upload Center" for processing and potential distribution via their various online and catalog vending services. This option allows for Ziff-Davis Interactive to distribute your file(s) on their various online (electronic) services, including their PBS BBS system, the ZiffNet/PBS sections on CompuServe, the ZiffNet/PBS sections on Prodigy (following review only), and the Ziff-Davis Interchange service (when that system becomes available). Please note that selecting this option *does not* guarantee that your file(s) will be included in *all* ZDI services - it merely gives ZDI the permission to do so should they select your file(s) for any of their services. Please note that our policy requires only a single file for this service, even if a multi-part fileset is being submitted for "normal" BBS distribution. Also, the filename for this file must be generic (i.e. it must not contain a reference to the version #). --------------------- SUBMITTING YOUR FILES --------------------- Your files are to be submitted only to the Network HQ site. All files must be submitted either via floppy disk, or electronically via CompuServe email or direct upload to our support BBS system. Floppy disk formats of 360k, 720k, 1.2M, and 1.44M will be accepted (720k preferred). Your floppy disk should include the archived distribution file(s) in the format that they are to be distributed in. You may include more than one program/file on a disk if space permits. All files should be placed in the root directory of the floppy disk (i.e. NO subdirectories). Your submission must also include a check or money order for the processing fees according to the schedule above. Checks/Money Orders are to be made payable to "RMH Computer Services" and are to be in US funds. Credit Card payments (MasterCard or VISA only) are now accepted. To charge the processing fees to your credit card, simply fill out the Credit Card block at the end of the submission form (you *MUST* fill in the "TOTAL:" field). The address of the Network HQ site is: ESC FDN Service Richard Holler PO Box 657 Beech Grove IN 46107-0657 Should you need additional information regarding anything, please contact Richard Holler: (317) 782-9903 [voice] (317) 784-2147 [BBS] FidoNet 1:231/290 RIME ->5056 CompuServe 73567,1547 INTERNET: 73567.1547@compuserve.com