--------------------------------------------- WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ THIS TEXT CAREFULLY! --------------------------------------------- If you have any questions or concerns we can be reached at 448-1290, during regular business hours. ABOUT THE BULLETIN BOARD CALLERS GUIDE -------------------------------------- The Bulletin Board Callers Guide is compiled by Midtown Computer Services and is available online on the 24th Street Exchange BBS and monthly in California Computer News magazine. The listing is FREE! Please note that this list is owned by Midtown Computer Services and we enjoy full editing power. Although this list is printed in California Computer News with permission granted by Midtown Computer Services, CCN retains the right to edit for their publication parameters. They have a standing policy that they are a family-oriented magazine and will not print sexually explicit material. They reserve the right to remove listings deemed inappropriate for their publication. The online version of the list is updated every Wednesday. The deadline for listing in California Computer News is the second Wednesday of each month, for publication the following month. YOUR BBS MUST OPERATE 24 HOURS A DAY and to keep your ad running you must review and renew the information quarterly, even if there are no changes. (A complete renewal schedule is available in the download package, file BBSSCHED.TXT). Also CORRECT FIRST & LAST NAME AND VOICE PHONE ARE REQUIRED; if this information is not included your listing will be deleted. All BBSs are verified when they are put in the listing and then each month, just prior to the deadline (the second Wednesday of the month). Don't look for us to sign on to your board to verify. We use a program designed to do this. If your board is down during the verification process and you do not notify us, removal is likely. To avoid interruption of your ad call us at 448-1290 and let us know the status of your BBS. If your board is new and/or unstable we suggest you make it so before you enter it into the list. It is the responsibility of each SysOp to check his/her listing for errors. If you find there has been a goof check both the online version and printed version, in CCN. Since we do not do CCN's typesetting, we have no control over any mistakes they might make. Either leave an e-mail message online to alert us to CCN errors or use the online database to correct changes. If you would like your BBS to be on 24th Street Exchange's list and in California Computer News contact us via modem by calling 24th Street Exchange at 448-2483. Take option at the Main menu and use our online entry system (ANSI IBM terminal emulation is needed --Zterm or Microphone will work for Mac people). The information you enter will be checked, verified, edited and entered into the electronic list on the following Wednesday. E-mail messages are not an appropriate way to make changes to your listing, but only to let us know your board is down. When entering the information online keep a few things in mind: BBS Name -------- Because we like to keep the list straight-forward we ask that you enter the name of your board in a plain vanilla way. Upper ASCII characters, strange characters or numbers before the name that obviously have no place there, the use of alternate upper/lower case letters, or any punctuation such as exclamation marks, will be edited. The list is alpha sorted by the first name of the BBS, excluding the word _The_. Name/Voice Phone ---------------- You must be willing to leave your correct and real name and voice phone number. If it is left blank or entered a handle as the name, your entry will be deleted. Voice phone will, by default, be confidential unless you specify otherwise. Your real name will appear in print in the electronic version, but not in CCN. BBS Software ------------ As this is for reference please do not include the version number of your software. Some callers are confused by what this information means anyway and we're tempted to removed it. Again, keep it simple. There is some space limitation in CCN so keep this in mind. And it doesn't make sense that a BBS runs more than one type of software refer to one only, please. Category Selection ------------------ If you are planning to enter your BBS into a category other than General it should be obvious by the description that your board is either theme-based or a user/support BBS. If it is not obvious or you are unsure of which category to use please leave e-mail to the list keeper or call us at 448-1290. If it doesn't appear plainly to be a theme-based or user/support board it will be left for the list keeper to decide. Description Entry ----------------- The 4-line description of your BBS should be used to exercise your creative writing skills not your graphics capabilities. We encourage you to fill up the space with interesting information that will encourage people to call your BBS over others. But lavish displays of exuberance--including upper ASCII characters, lots of upper case words, multiple exclamation marks, etc.--will be edited. REMEMBER THAT THE FIRST LINE OF THE DESCRIPTION IS THE ONE THAT WILL BE PRINTED IN CCN; format it accordingly. If you have questions, comments, complaints, or concerns you may contact us Monday-Friday, during regular business hours, at 448-1290. Midtown Computer Services and 24th Street Exchange are not affilia- ted with California Computer News or Government Technology in any way. The views expressed by California Computer News and Government Technology do not reflect those of Midtown Computer Services or 24th Street Exchange. Finally ------- People frequently ask, Why isn't my BBS listed? Usually it's because they have not read this information and/or they ignore the online insturctions. Here are the most common reasons why a listing is deleted from the start: 1) BBS and voice phone are the same or; 2) No voice phone is given; 3) SysOp's real name is not listed; 4) Information in various fields is left blank; 5) Upon trying to verify for the first time there is no answer; 6) BBS does not operate 24 hours a day.