旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � C H A T W I T H L I S A � � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ � � Custom Response Database! � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Would you like Lisa to answer questions about your BBS, or talk about your special interests, or perhaps change her physical description? Now you can! Registered Sysops can edit their own CUSTOM.DAT file to modify Lisa's reponses based on YOUR needs. It's simple and almost fun. IF YOU PLAN TO DO THIS, PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT. IT HAS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON HOW LISA WORKS, AND HOW TO EDIT THE SAMPLE DATA FILE. IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK, AND I'M NOT GOING TO WRITE IT FOR YOU! HOW DOES LISA WORK? =================== After the caller types something and presses [ENTER], Lisa scans their sentence for "keywords" that are defined in her data file. Each keyword has one or more responses associated with it. The responses for each set of keywords are used sequentially until the last one, then Lisa starts to repeat herself. If no keyword is found, Lisa uses one of her generic responses. All responses go through a typing routine that conjugates the text, varies her speed, and makes occasional "typos". WHAT IS THE CUSTOM.DAT FILE? ============================ The CUSTOM.DAT file is a database containing "keywords" and "responses" that can be edited with any ASCII text editor (the regular LISA.DAT file is encoded and should never be edited). After you modify the data file to suit your needs, it runs "on top" of Lisa's regular data file. The CUSTOM.DAT file always takes precedence over the LISA.DAT file. If Lisa does not find a keyword in your CUSTOM.DAT file, she looks in her regular LISA.DAT file. This way, you can create custom responses for your special keywords, but don't need to develop an entire database to include over 1000 words that Lisa already knows. THE CUSTOM.DAT FILE IS LIMITED TO 100 KEYWORDS AND 100 REPLIES (each reply is limited to 128 characters). IMPORTANT NOTE! =============== To use custom replies, you must rename the CUSTOM.SAM file to CUSTOM.DAT. Lisa will automatically load the CUSTOM.DAT file (when it exists) but she ignores the CUSTOM.SAM file because it is only a sample. After you edit the file, run the CUSTOM.EXE program to check your CUSTOM.DAT file for errors. Make corrections, then run CUSTOM.EXE again (until no mistakes are found). HOW DO I MODIFY THE CUSTOM.DAT FILE? ==================================== We recommend using the DOS EDIT program. After you load the sample file into your editor, take special notice of how the text is formatted. The format is shown below and must be followed exactly! KEYWORD1 <--- Keywords must be CAPITAL letters or numbers, and can NOT KEYWORD2 <--- have any punctuation. Use a CR/LF at the end of each word. KEYWORD3 <--- This set of keywords will all use the same responses. Response1 <--- The first response for the above keywords. REPLIES MUST Response2 <--- BE INDENTED ONE SPACE TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM KEYWORDS. Response3 <--- Use punctuation and normal capitalization for responses. KEYWORD <--- The start of a new set of keywords... KEYWORD <--- Use 1 or more keywords in each set, up to 100 total. Response <--- Another set of replies. Responses are used sequentially Response <--- until the end of each set, then Lisa recycles them. Response <--- Use at least 3 reponses so Lisa won't repeat too soon. EOF <--- Enter EOF at the end of the file. Use just once! Just keep repeating the format above until you are done. Make sure that EOF appears on the last line, and press [ENTER] at the end of each line. Now read about the special characters below. SPECIAL CHARACTERS: =================== @ <--- Wherever the @ appears in a response, it will be replaced by the caller's first name (Lisa gets their name from the drop file). & <--- Wherever the & appears in a response, it will be replaced by the name you have selected for Lisa in the LISA.CFG file. * <--- Use this at the end of a KEYWORD to search for word variations. EXAMPLES USING THE SPECIAL CHARACTERS: ====================================== LAST NAME <--- First keyword. Keywords can be multiple words. REAL NAME <--- Second keyword. Use all CAPS and no punctuation! YOUR NAME <--- Third keyword. Just using "NAME" is too generic. You know my name, I'm & and you're @. <--- First response uses special My real name is a secret. characters for both names. Only a bimbo would give out her last name. <--- Third response. Use regular Ok, my last name is... uh, Schwarzenegger. <--- punctuation for responses. MARRY <--- First keyword for this set. MARRI* <--- The * character will find "married" or "marriage". DIVORC* <--- The * will find "divorce, divorced, divorcing". YOU SINGLE <--- Using "SINGLE" would be too generic. I've never been married myself. Are you proposing? <--- First response Marriage isn't a word, it's a sentence :) for this set. Well, if the right guy came along, I would marry him. <--- Last response. EOF <--- End-Of-File. Use just once, with CAPS as shown. THE REPLIES MUST BE INDENTED ONE SPACE TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM KEYWORDS. EACH KEYWORD/RESPONSE MUST USE ONE LINE ONLY, UP TO 128 CHARACTERS LONG. Be careful when using the "*" wildcard character. For example, using the keyword SEX* will find "sex, sexy, sexual, sexuality" but it will also find "sextant" and "sextuplets". Use a dictionary to check word combinations. READ THIS OR BE SORRY! ====================== The order of the keywords is very important. If "YOU" was placed in the first set of keywords, Lisa would constantly respond to "YOU" and never look for any other words. Likewise, if you put "I" before "I LIKE" or "I HATE", Lisa will never respond to "I LIKE" because she will read "I" before "I LIKE". That's why the LISA.DAT file has profanities in the first set of keywords, so that she can respond to them before any other words. Your keywords should be targeted for specific topics, and not be generic. List the specific keywords first, then the more general ones. Remember that Lisa already responds to "who, what, when, where, why & how" type questions, plus other generic words. So make your keywords specific to your topic, and then list the keyword sets in order of importance. When modifying the responses, you should analyze the replies to make sure they work in all possible cases. For example, if the caller types "Are you pretty?" and Lisa has a keyword of "PRETTY" with a reponse of "Most people think I'm pretty" then the response sounds OK. But if the caller says "I'm pretty tired tonight" and Lisa says "Most people think I'm pretty" then it does not make as much sense. THE FAST & EASY APPROACH: ========================= Simply edit the replies in the sample CUSTOM.DAT file and replace the information about MY BBS with information about YOUR BBS. Then edit the personal information about Lisa, which is included in the sample file. If you feel creative, add special keywords/replies (100 each maximum) to the end of the list, or delete some keywords, or start from scratch. NEED MORE KEYWORDS? =================== Every keyword in the sample CUSTOM.DAT file is also used in the LISA.DAT file. If you run out of keywords for your special topic, ask yourself if you really need to change Lisa's age, hair color, weight, etc. You could delete those keywords/replies and let Lisa use her default replies. Also, don't accidently "short circuit" the LISA.DAT file by using a key- word that is too generic. If you put "THE" in your custom keyword list, Lisa will respond to that before checking her own list of 1000+ keywords. ONE MORE SECRET: ================ If the last four characters of a response is "Bye." (without the quotes) Lisa will force the caller to exit the door. Use this when you want Lisa to end the conversation after certain keywords are used. For example, the following response would end the chat: "@, the Sysop is calling me. Bye." Or you could try: "I hate you! Bye." TECHNICAL SUPPORT: ================== To keep LAMERS from wasting too much of my time, the CUSTOM.DAT file works with registered versions only. Before you decide to ask for help, please FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND RUN THE CUSTOM.EXE PROGRAM TO CHECK FOR ERRORS. If there is some problem that you just can't fix, you can reach me at the locations specified in the SYSOP.TXT file (under Technical Support).