EBBS-PC copyrighted by Ed Parry (1985-1991)

INTRODUCTION

This is quick intro to EBBS-PC for those wishing to jump right in.
EBBS-PC is intuitive and is very easy to setup, use, maintain and run.

SUGGESTED SETUP

My suggested minimal suggested setup requirements for EBBS-PC:

512 kilobytes of ram (minimal).
Single floppy of any size.
Any size hard drive - larger the better.
2400-9600 Baud external Hayes compatible modem.
A serial card setup for port 1 or 2 (COM1: and/or COM2:).
Color monitor to enjoy the nice ANSI colors.

The above items are not true requirements.  For example, I am sure
EBBS-PC will work adequately on a monochrome system, but the
coloring and lettering might appear abnormal or not appear at all in
a few rare cases.

In the past, some folks have left me feedback that they have a nice
system running on floppies only.  This SHOULD work fine, but you
won't have alot of room for transfer files, larger message bases,
etc.  The floppies will also slow EBBS I/O performance quite a bit.
 
Some folks have tried to get EBBS to run on INTERNAL modems, and
98% of them claim they have alot of trouble.  I do not know WHY this
occurs, but it seems to be an odd fact of life for EBBS-PC.  Avoid
headaches; invest in an external modem.

FEATURES:

EBBS-PC has a nice array of features, and this update (v1.45)
really enhanced the list: (Parenthesis indicate future plans.)

1)  User selectable ANSI color and IBM extended graphics.
2)  NON ANSI mode is still supported.
3)  Multi downloading via ymodem batch or zmodem.
4)  DOOR's are finally supported! (PCB/WW4 drivers soon, if I can do 'em.)
5)  10 message bases. (26 message bases soon.)
6)  15 file transfer sections. (26 xfer sections soon.)
7)  Up to 9600 baud support. (Up to 115kbaud soon.)
8)  COM0: (local!), COM1: & COM2: support. (COM3: and COM4: soon.)
9)  Network support. (IE: Run multiple system nodes/share data.)
10) Standard X, Y & Zmodem file transfers using DSZ driver.
11) Improved, easier configuration. (Similiar to CONFIG.SYS!)
12) 43/50 (etc) line mode support. (EBBS now uses CONS: output device!)
13) Code has been optimized & reduced resulting in faster execution.
14) Self maintains 95% of itself. No message base packing, etc.
15) Powerful, fast and easy to use line editor.
16) Full complement of useful Sysop functions.
17) Instant userfile searches using btree search algorythm.
18) Powerful, fast and easy EMAIL features.
19) Error trapping to avoid 99% of all crash related problems.
20) 131,070 user levels and inline user editor level calc's.
21) DOORWAY "DOOR.SYS" compatiblity. (Short version).

These is a simple list of some of EBBS' general and enhanced
features.  Basically, EBBS-PC is very intuitive, has online help
menu's at every prompt, operates at a high degree of efficiency, is
very easy to setup, use and maintain and offers features of systems
costing hundreds more at a fraction of the cost.

FUTURE PLANS/IDEAS:

Also planned for the future:

1) Enhanced userfile fields. (Fields for Everything I can think of!)
2) EBBS specific DOOR's. EBBSNet, EBBSMail, etc.
3) EBBS "EVENT.BAT" modules: Delete old userfiles, sort xfer file
   data, enhanced stats creator, etc.
4) PowerBASIC v2.1+: PB21 supports COM1-COM4 and baud rates up to
   115k baud.  Also, code speed and I/O speed are generally faster
   than QuickBASIC v3.0.
5) 26 message bases & 26 xfer sections.
6) A NEW way of leveling with the alphabet. Much easier and
   versatile and will allow me to reduce source size a bit.

WHY QUICKBASIC v3.0?

Simple.  It allows programs greater than 64k in size and it works.
QB45 modules are limited to 64k each, and I had some problems with
EBBS and QB45 getting along when I trial converted EBBS-PC to QB45.
It was not only problematic,  but it was a big hassle converting
into modules, creating quick libs, etc.  I LIKE and PREFER one big
program to work with/on.  A BBS program requires a high degree of
integration, and it is faster and easier editing one large module
than many smaller ones in *MY* opinion.

MAYBE POWERBASIC?

PowerBASIC v2.1 allows only 64k in the editor at one time, but it
WILL allow INCLUDED XXXX.BAS files, so my trial conversions have all
gone quickly and well.  A noticable I/O and general speed increase
is evident.

I have had some initial problems with it, but I think I have some
ideas at this point how to bypass them.  My intentions are to
attempt a PB21 (or greater if/when the update shows) version mainly
to offer the additional COM3 & COM4 ports and support high speed
(>9600 baud) modems.


EXTERNALLY REQUIRED FILES/PROGRAMS

DSZ - This program is used exclusively in EBBS-PC for it's file
transfers.  It can be found on most any PC based Bulletin Board System
as well as on my EBBS HQ system.

BRUN30.EXE - This is the run time module for QuickBASIC v3.0. EBBS-PC
has to have this to run.

PKUNZIP - This file decompresses the EBBSxxxx.ZIP file.

THEDRAW - I used this to come up with all the EBBS ANSI menu's.

DR - This is an ANSI DIR command by Chris Smeets. Very nice.

SANS - This is a font I created with FONTEDIT. Change EVGAFont = SANS
       in your EBBSCFG.DAT file to use it and 43 line mode.


QUICK START

If you are fairly good at intuitive logical programs, you can
probably get EBBS going without reading the EBBS.TXT file.

Here's some basic's to get you online fast:

LET'S GET ONLINE

Make sure COMMAND.COM, DSZ.EXE, DR.EXE and BRUN30.EXE as well as any
other EBBS specific programs are in your path.

1) UNZIP the EBBS*.ZIP file into it's own directory, right below the
root directory. I suggest (and use) "C:\EBBS".

For example:

C:\>MD EBBS

C:\>CD EBBS

C:\EBBS>PKUNZIP C:\TEMP\EBBS*

2) Load and edit the EBBSCFG.DAT file.  This is your config file.
Make sure to set up EBBS paths correctly, rename the system, setup
your prefferred system defaults, etc.  Don't forget to resave the
EBBSCFG.DAT file after you edit it.

3) Make SURE you use the SUB DIRECTORY creator (MAKEDIRS.EXE) to
make all your EBBS sub-directories. It will check your EBBSCFG.DAT
file, so make sure you edited that before running MAKEDIRS.EXE.

4) Write any bulletins, text files, etc.  Don't worry, EBBS will
give you a simple error message if a bulletin or text file is not
found, and will tell the name and path it was looking for!  For
example, after a user logs on EBBS will display the OPENING BULLETIN
file. (Called OB on disk.) If this file is not found, EBBS will
indicate so by printing "C:\EBBS\OB" file not found." All you need
to do now, is create the OB file and make sure it is in your EBBS
sub directory and it will display properly next time.

5) Add yourself in as the first user. This is an important step.  Do
not confuse yourself as the first user, with yourself as the System
Operator.  EBBS treats these both differently. A system Operator
does just that. Operates and maintains the system.  EBBS will NOT
keep high message counters, last logon date, etc. info the System
Operator. It WILL keep this (and other) info on you as user number
one however.

6) LIST all the files in the file transfer sections. This will
create the XFERFILE.DAT random files needs to administrate the
file transfer section.

7) Post the first message in each message base.  This will initiate
each message base, create the message base index file, etc.

8) That's it - go online!  You can fine tune along the way.

VITAL INFORMATION

1) When editing a userfile, entering a "?" for the level(s)
   will display the users current access.

2) When editing a userfile, entering a "C" for the level(s)
   will invoke the internal user level calculator.

3) In the modem RESET and CONFIG strings, a tilde ("~") equals
   a one second delay and the vertical bar ("|") equals RETURN.

4) F10 ReRUN's EBBS-PC when online. Alt-F10 exit's to DOS.

5) Text Files: Add their names into the TM file, then rename the actual
   TEXT file to include the extension of .TXT and place it in the TEXT
   sub directory.

6) Patterns: When searching for user names, you can enter partial's
   as the search pattern.  Example: "Ed Par" will find "Ed Parry".
   This works for sending email, logging on, user editing, etc.

If you have specific questions, drop me feedback on my system.  I answer
all my mail regularly about 6pm on weekday's, and several times
throughout the day on weekends.

REGISTRATION

If you like and use EBBS-PC, then please register.

Registering Sysops will receive the QuickBASIC 3.0 BASIC source code,
full docs, EBBS HQ (my system) EBBS-PC xfer section access (share mods,
DL updates, etc.) and free downloadable update rights. (Disk updates
are $10.00).

Ed Parry/EBBS-PC
8711 Langdon Ave. #8
Sepulveda,  CA  91343
818-891-9350: MY EBBS HQ system