Telegard (R) Doc Plus (Second Release) For ver 2.50 - 2.5k (c) 1991 Rishi Persad LEGAL STUFF. "Telegard" is a registered trademark of Roy Wilson. The author of this document is not affiliated with the Telegard Team in any way. This is an unauthorized addenum to the original Telegard documentation. This text is copyrighted by Rishi Persad and no part of it may be modified in any way without the expressed and written consent of Rishi Persad. Permission is granted to quote any text for review and educational purposes. You may distribute this freely provided that it is in the original unmodified form and that no fee is charged for such. ADDENUM. This is the second release of the TG Document Plus written for sysops that have recently started and need to know more about the system.If you have been running Telegard for sometime you will probably not need this document. I decided to release this last Telegard file in order to help those that are now getting familiar with the system. This updated version contains information on the exact keystrokes needed to abort the supposedly unabortable newuser application as well as a complete (I hope) list of ALL the commands available in the chat mode. I updated the doors section and added some more undocumented features. The Telegard Beta site passage was deleted, since commentary is not required or neccessary.The Utilities section was also removed and the syntax in some sections has been modified. CONTENTS. 1...........................Telegard's Start 2...........................The Chat System 3...........................PCBOARD Doors on Telegard 4...........................Features that don't work 5...........................Why Modem won't respond 6...........................How to run 3 boards 7...........................Undocumented Features 8...........................What's Ahead for Telegard 9...........................Appendix A TELEGARD'S START. Wayne Bell, could be considered the "Godfather" of Telegard. He obtained routines from other authors and created the WWIV BBS program. The source code, written in Turbo Pascal was released to the public later on. Carl Mueller took this code and started improving on it. Unfortunately before he could complete his project, he encountered some legal problems (busted by the FEDS for trying to break in a computer system in OHIO). He was later released due to insuffficient evidence. Eric Oman (15 yrs old) got hold of the source and made some extensive changes and decided to call the new BBS "Telegard". It was destined to become the TELEcomm vanGARD of BBS software. Unfortunately, although Eric was a wiz, he was inexperienced and needed some help with some big bugs in his program. He called on his, then buddy, Martin Pollard (24 yrs) for help. Being a veteran programmer, Martin helped Eric clean up some of the code. Todd Bolitho (32 yrs) joined the TEAM sometime after. Greed took over and here's what happened next: a> Todd left the TEAM due to "creative differences" with Martin. b> Eric left because it was not "fun anymore". c> Martin continued to work on Telegard until he was slapped with a lawsuit by Eric Oman, which prevented further development of the BBS program. THE CHAT SYSTEM. This system was quite an intricate one. It contained editing routines and seemed destined to become the first interactive chat system, which could be emulated remotely.The idea was abandonded but the author forgot to remove the code involved (mostly boolean variables). Here's what was left on that system while in chat mode: a> /c or /cc - returns the string "No" b> /q - aborts the chat mode c> /bye - terminates call and hangups user d> /type - type a file onscreen to user e> /cls - clears screen f> /page - pages sysop or the user g> /shell - shell to DOS with user (only for 255 security level) h> /? - gives a list of all the commands available in chat The /c and /cc were the CHANGE line and CLEAR line commands for the editing part of the chat system. It was actually supposed to return the "Line No." prompt but part of the routine was de-activated and the line truncated, resulting in the "No" response. The /q is self explanatory. It is the QUIT command and is still fully functional. The /bye is the internal hangup command and is also fully functional. Use /type c:\path\filename.ext to type a file to screen. You may use this to display a text or ANSI file to a user while in chat. Remember that non-ansi users will only see the escape codes, so be careful when displaying ANSI files. The /page command will send a string of beeps to both the user and sysop. This is good to call someones attention. You know those "please wait while I get the door...." type of things ? This will call the attention of the user or sysop who may have forgotten that he/she was in chat. The /shell command should be used discreetly. It will perform an immediate drop to DOS without disconnecting the user. PCBOARD DOORS. Most PCBOARD doors can be run in Telegard using the standard door convertors available from most BBS systems. A "door-convertor" will simply change the output format of one door to to the format of another. I personally have found that QKDOOR26 works flawlessly with Telegard. It can be downloaded from most good BBSs as QKDOOR26.ZIP. Look for it in the BBS or Door Directory if there is one. Here's how you would use the door convertor. Set the door to run as GAP or Wildcat ..."DG" or "DW" for the CMD, then have the door convertor run in your batch file before the door is excuted. For example: @echo off cd\bbs quikdor GAP PCB14 {converts GAP to PCB format} cd\bbs\doors\game game.exe exit If you need help running doors in Telegard just call the beta site closest to you. Please not that some PCBOARD doors need other files to run well. Like my friend, Carlos use to say ..."read the damn docs". If the data files needed to run the door is not there, then the door won't run. Remember that what a door does locally is not necessarily what it does remotely. A door may run fine locally but messed up on the user's side. So always ALWAYS always test the doors out first before making them available for all users. Have a user you trust, do the testing for you. FEATURES THAT DON'T WORK. Most of the features mentioned in the docs for 2.5i works except for the foll: 1> ";RE:" in the MSTRING after the E-Mail command does not give the reason for the mail as expected. To overcome this, you can use the MACRO commands to insert the reasons in the field. To see this in action, call HBN and enter the Mailroom. Then select "N" for Note to HOMEBOY. Sit back and watch as everything is done for you. Don't know how to enter macros ?? Well if you read the docs and still don't understand exactly what to do, then download HBNMNUS.ZIP from the Telegard file area. It has all the menu structures configured for HBN. You'll be able too take a "back-stage" look at how we actually set up this board. Everything which could be configured or changed WAS configured and changed. 2> The post/call ratio which was internal and existed in earlier versions of Telegard was deactivated and DOES NOT WORK in any 2.5 or later versions. To get this functional you need to get the Post/Call utility and run it externaly. The file which does this is called PCALL110.ZIP and can be found on the better TG boards. 3> The command "O" for chat status DOES NOT display the default string claimed in the docs. To get this to work just do the foll: a) Go into Telegard's Text Editor or drop to mini-dos and type EDIT. b) Create a SYSOPIN.MSG file and insert the comment you want to appear when you are available for chat. Like : "The Sysop might be available for chat, just page him if you need help!" c) Create a SYSOPOUT.MSG file and insert the comment you want to appear when you're NOT available for chat. Like:"The sysop is not available to chat right now. Chat hrs are from xx AM to xx PM, please try back then." d) Make sure these two files are in your AFILES directory. If you used the Telegard editor, then it will automatically be placed in the AFILES directory. e) Please remember that you MUST replace the "-L" in the CMD: field of the main menu with "OO" for this to work. If you don't create a sysopin or sysopout file, Telegard will use the sysop status strings as the default. 4> //YELL will not work unless you have "helpcry.bat" in the main BBS directory. The file SYSOPC11.ZIP has the commands needed for use in the Helpcry.bat file. It has sounds from a raygun to a buzzer to choose from. WHY MODEM WON'T ANSWER. It may be for one or more of the following reasons: 1> Your modem is NO GOOD ! Don't expect a Radio Shack external modem that you paid a few bucks for, to perform all functions flawlessly in the HOST mode. I have noticed that when some sysops switched modems they no longer had any problems. I use a "Premier 1000i" modem (one of the lowest cost internal modems available) and have no problems connecting with callers . 2> Is your modem a 9600 ? If it is then it is most likely that it is having problems interfacing with TG. One sign of an interface problem is "garbage characters fill up screen" after a file transfer. There are utilites available to combat this problem. Call your closest beta site and ask them to get it for you. 3> The default initialization strings is not compatible with your particular brand of modem. Read the docs that came with your modem and change the strings. By trial and error you'll get it . 4> Have you had your I/O card checked recently ?? A faulty I/O card may not show any noticeable signs when you call a board but the reverse is not necessarily true. 5> You don't have a fossil driver installed. The x00.sys or BNU.com reliable . They will make your computer compatible with others that may not be compatible otherwise. 6> Your telephone line may have reverse polarity. A line tester will easily tell you if the wired were connected properly. Remember that a telephone line works similar to an electical outlet (in fact it does have a voltage running through the wires). If red/green/black is not connected properly YOU will get problems on your line, not to mention excessive noise on occasions. If you still have problems with your modem interacting with Telegard then, just call your nearest beta site and report it. HOW TO RUN THREE BOARDS. Sorry, but you need a multi-node software to do that properly. However you can simulate it by: a) Running the other BBS software as a door if possible. It is done on HBN. b) Get a software that acts as a frontdoor (Wildcat,Pyroto,Free Speech,Pinnacle SAssY Software) and have a selection at the Main Menu for the TG BBS. Telegard can be forced to quit with sysop defined errorlevels. If you're familiar with batch language you can use this to your advantage. UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES. 1> Yes ! The newuser application CAN be aborted ! By using a series of keystrokes : /S . The preceeding keystrokes is GUARANTEED to abort the newuser application. Remember not to enter any data, just three (not ONE) blank lines then save. That will result in the "aborted" message. The sysop will not get any mail whatsoever. If you have a callback validation door, then you better keep a close look at ALL your newusers. They can and will abort the message and get validated via callback (believe me...I know from personal experience). Just a quick note, while in the Newuser application you can use /E to get a short list of editing commands. This is available in any editing mode and was not documented. Also note the the use of the cursor keys while in the editor will degrade the integrity of the data being input. In plain English: It will screw up your message and the TG prompt when you exit from the editor. 2> The TRASHCAN.TXT is a file which you create to store names/handles that you do NOT want used on your system.It must be in the AFILES directory. You can use any text editor to create it and it may look something like this: THE HACKER CRASHER SYSOP INFILTRATOR TG will reject any names that appear in that list. This feature came from the WWIV software code, but was forgotten when the TG docs was written. 3> If you wish to pack the message base at the WFC menu, simply use the "K" key. It is not listed in the WFC menu. 4> In mini-dos, you can execute any command in regular DOS just by typing "EXT {command}". For example, if you wanted to use the q editor, you would type at the mini-dos prompt : ext q The system would then swap out of memory, and then execute the q command. 5> From the WFC screen, the "ALT" + "-" key will give you the stack space being used currently. It can be triggered from anywhere in Telegard. What does it mean ? Well, not much for the sysop but to the programmer it means the byte space taken up by a collection of data that are all of the same type. It's used to store data for future retreival within the program. Further explanation is not required. 6> The @S is not supported by Telegard !! Use of that string in prompts will lock up your system. Use of it in the Pause string practically means, destroying your system. It will lock up everytime pause should appear, and guess what ? The pause normally appears in the config menu, just before the prompt. WHAT'S AHEAD FOR TELEGARD? Nothing ! Due to legal restrictions, there will never be another standard release of TG. Martin Pollard however is releasing his own BBS software (written in "C") by the beginning of 1991. It will have the same features that you have come to like in TG, but should be light years faster than TG. It will be released with a convertor program so that you won't have to start all over from scratch. Telegard 2.5i was the last standard release. Any other version later than that was not released officially to the public. APPENDIX A I no longer run Telegard software but you can contact me at my board in New York City : Rishi Persad The Homeboyz Network 718-658-1663 1200/2400 24 hrs Fido 1:107/603.0 If you need Telegard utilities, you can find 3 megs worth of it on the following board: Dawnstar BBS 718-389-2892 1200/2400 24 Hrs Mon-Sat CREDITS. I would like to extend my gratitude to some of the best Telegard sysops in the US for their help with the TG and feedback that caused me to release this final version of TGDOCPLS. Carlos Rodriquez - Feedback and info on some of the commands. Scott Raymond - Help getting my FIDO node and D'Bridge setup. Big J - Introducing me to Telegard. Pat S. - My Canadian friend whose positive feedback I needed. Thanks to all the sysops who called me long distance for Telegard Utilities. You showed me the need. Remember that you can still get your utilities at the Dawnstar BBS. You can send me mail there. I am user #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (c) 1991 RKP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------