ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º ÇÄ¿ º K E E P I N G I N T O U C H º ³ º ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ º ³ º SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter º ³ º for registered SPITFIRE Sysops! º ³ º November 1994 º ³ º Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE º ³ º Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496 º ³ º 38400/19200/9600/2400/1200 Bps º ³ º 2 Nodes º ³ º º ³ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Edited by Jacque Shipley The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 57600 Bps Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede Roam This Fertile Land - (515) 288-8755 - 14400 Bps Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz Other Contributions As Noted Happy Thanksgiving Wishes to all SPITFIRE Sysops! ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Notes from the author of SPITFIRE! ÇÄ¿ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I am reminded of all that we have to be thankful for. I understand that some are more fortunate than others, however, we all have much to be thankful for. I once read a plaque which has stuck with me over the years. I would like to share this with you. "I used to feel sorry for myself because I didn't have any shoes until I saw a man who didn't have any feet." I pray that each of you are able to spend Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I also hope that you have plenty to eat (gain 5 pounds - smiling). May God's grace be with each of you. Until next time, may God bless you... Mike, Ann & family ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Greet ye one another with a kiss ÇÄ¿ º of love. Peace be with you all that º ³ º are in Christ Jesus. º ³ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SFMSGLMR - SF LAST MESSAGE READ UPDATE ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; The following is a correction to the article, SFMSGLMR - SF LAST MESSAGE READ UTILITY, which appeared in SPITFIRE's October 1994 'Keeping In Touch' newsletter. During the explanation of the command line parameter options, the /GET and /SET were inadvertently turned around. The explanation should have read: SFMSGLMR uses two command line parameters. The /GET is used with SFMSGLMR when executed prior to running SHILOEXP. SFMSGLMR stores the last read message pointer information of the caller. The last read message pointer is then saved to a file on the drive. After running SHILOEXP and transferring the mail packet through DSZ, the batch file determines what processing should occur next based on the errorlevel returned by DSZ. If the DSZ reports the file transfer was successful, the file containing the last message read pointer information of the caller prior to running SHILOEXP is simply erased. However, in the event DSZ returns an errorlevel which indicates the file transfer was not successful, the batch file processes some additional commands. SFMSGLMR using the /SET command line parameter is used to reset the caller's last message read pointers to what they were prior to initiating the export. Then after resetting the pointers, the file which stores the last message read pointer information is erased. Mike Woltz has since made a revision to the new SFMSGLMR utility. SFMSGLMR now has the capability of including the caller name when using either /GET or the /SET command line parameters. This feature allows hubs which prepare packets in advance to also take advantage of this utility and to ensure that their nodes have properly received their mail packet. The format of the command line using this option would be: SFMSGLMR /GET or SFMSGLMR /SET When no is included in the command line, SFMSGLMR will read the SFDOORS.DAT to determine the caller information. If is included on the command line, then this is what is used by SFMSGLMR. As when used with a caller online, using the /GET option allows this callers last message read pointers to be saved. In the event, the mail packet is not successfully transferred, then the /SET can be used to restore the last read message pointers to what they were prior to extracting messages from the SPITFIRE message base. ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SFUPDHDR - SPITFIRE UPDATE HEADER UTILITY ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; If there is any SPITFIRE Sysop that has earned a reputation for himself as offering quality SPITFIRE utilities at more-than-fair registration costs it is Timothy J. Ward. SFUPDHDR is one of these utilities. SFUPDHDR creates a header for SPITFIRE's SFFILES.BBS file listing. From the information in SFFILES.BBS it creates a header which is both attractive and also provides statistical information regarding the number of files that available for download and the total downloadable bytes in the file area. SFUPDHDR uses allows the Sysop to choose one of 9 header designs. The Sysop specifies the header design in the configuration file. SFUPDHDR uses a default configuration file but by specifying the configuration file on the command line, the Sysop may use multiple configurations. In this manner, the Sysop may elect to rotate the header designs which are available in SFUPDHDR. Some of the header designs will even allow you to include up to two lines of text. The text included in the header is configured by the Sysop when creating the configuration file(s). Also, worth noting, is that each header is personalized to contain the BBS name. SFUPDHDR will create a backup copy of the existing SFFILES.BBS prior to making the SFFILES.BBS. A command line option parameter provides an option to delete the backup file when processing is completed. Other command line parameters allow you to specify the file area or range of file areas for which to create headers and instructions whether to include file areas configured as CD Rom file areas. In addition to the SFUPDHDR utility, Tim also includes SFROMHDR. This is a companion utility for creating headers for CD Rom file areas used by SFROM. It works in much the same way as SFUPDHDR, using the SFROM configuration file to determine the file lists for which it will create the headers. SFUPDHDR is fully functional in its shareware version. However, for the registration fee of $1, it is well worth registering! ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ KEEPING IN TOUCH PUBLICATION ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Some of the SPITFIRE pioneers out there can probably remember when 'Keeping In Touch' came to you as a monthly mailing. Due to the time and expense involved this was discontinued quite some time ago. However, there have been many Sysop express a desire to see the mailings continue. Jerry Davidson, of Polaris BBS, recently contacted Mike about publishing and distributing the SPITFIRE newsletter on a monthly basis. To quote Jerry's message: "I wonder if you would consider putting a note in your next newsletter relative to the possible publishing of the newsletter. As you may recall, I have been toying around with the idea for some time and I would just like to get some sort of feel for what the SF Sysops (and other users) would think about such an idea. I could publish the newsletter but it would have to be on some sort of subscription basis. I know what you, Ann and your family must have gone through publishing it for no charge and then sending it out at your expense for months on end. Thats dedication and my hat is off to you all. I would have to charge something reasonable for the paper, and mailing expense. I am not interested in making a profit, but just want to make some sort of little contribution to the betterment of SF. Perhaps this is one way that I could do it." If you are interested in receiving SPITFIRE's Monthly Support Newsletter, 'Keeping In Touch' in publication, please contact Jerry on Polaris BBS. The BBS number is 801-831-4906 and supports speeds up to 19200 bps. If there is sufficient interest in this, 'Keeping In Touch' may again arrive delivered to you in the near future. ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; The Glory Bound BBS SFNET A0803001 Inman, SC 29349 803-592-5208 FIDONet 1:3652/5 Ken Kirkley, Sysop FMLYNet 8:8301/3 Well, I have always heard that good things come to those who keep their nose clean and mind their own business. That is exactly what I was doing on Sunday afternoon when my son told me I had a phone call. Having talked voice with Mike Woltz previously, I immediately recognized his voice. I was pleasantly surprised when he informed me that The Glory Bound BBS had been picked as the SPITFIRE Board of the Month for November! No doubt I would not even be running a BBS if it had not been for my father-in-law (Jim Quick of The Lighthouse BBS). It was him who got me hooked on computers. After using an Amstrad word processor for about a year I jumped into the deep water of a computer. I purchased my father-in-laws old Tandy 1000. The Tandy had a massive 20 meg harddrive and an EGA monitor. In a few months my father-in-law had run across an external 300/1200 baud modem for my use. With this attached to the Tandy I was now ready to reach out to the world. My first experiences with a modem were with Compuserve. After a few months of paying them for fun, I discovered a couple of local boards. It seemed that the more I called these boards the more intrigued (hooked ) I became. There was no doubt in my mind, but that I had to have my own BBS. After *much* work with RBBS and a couple of other programs my father-in-law gave me a copy of SPITFIRE. In a very short time I had it installed on my massive 20 meg drive (stacked to 40) and ready to run. During the setup time I knew that I needed a larger and better system. Needless to say, I rationalized how much work I could get done with a new system, also. Christmas of '92 found me purchasing a new 386 DX-40 tower with a 130 meg harddrive. Of course having a new computer meant needing a new and faster modem. The ZOOM 14.4 was soon to follow. The Glory Bound BBS officially went on-line on January 14, 1993. I called the local boards and sent out messages informing the users of the area that a new BBS was on-line. I remember vividly my awaiting the first few callers. It was kinda like awaiting the arrival of my two children.....nervous! Did I have everything configured properly, would my modem (still at 2400) be compatible with the callers modem.......etc. Almost two years later The Glory Bound is still on-line! This BBS is by no means large (user base of around 250) and probably never will be. But it meets the expectations and needs of myself. Running this board is a hobby that gives me much pleasure. I have had the opportunity to meet many new people who have become friends. I have had the "fun" of helping newbies become acquainted with the wonderful world of BBS'ing. The BBS has also allowed me to share my personal faith in Jesus Christ with many individuals. This was one of my reasons for starting the BBS. There were many good boards around, but none that were truly Christian with a Christian message. The Glory Bound currently participates in four mail networks; SPARNet (for our local area), SFNET, FIDONet, and FMLYNet. All conferences are clean, G-rated areas. No porno nor adult material is allowed within the message base nor the file base. The file base now consists of 470 megs of harddrive space plus one CD-ROM drive on-line. Three other ROMS are available via SFROM Request. Files range from educational, games, general DOS utilities, SPITFIRE utilities (some 12 megs worth) to personal Bible study. One file area is devoted entirely to the On-Line Bible program and another one to Bible programs in general. The BBS now operates under Desqview 2.42. Remember, I said earlier that I rationalized about how much more work I could accomplish with a faster system. The multitasking has truly allowed for greater personal use of the system. In closing, I would like to thank Mike Woltz for the privilege of being the Board of the Month, but more importantly for writing a fine piece of software that allows us Sysops to personalize our BBS to our taste. Thanks, Mike. More importantly, I want to thank Jesus Christ for my salvation! Without Christ there is no telling where I would be and what I would be doing. He has really made life worth living! May God Bless, Ken Kirkley ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Eric Lofgren Sea Spray BBS (902)-765-6867 Wilmot, Nova Scotia, Canada Well I have never written anything like this before but here I go. My name is Eric Lofgren and I must admit I was very suprised when Mike Woltz called me today and told me I had been selected as Sysop of the month. Noreen, my wife, was wondering why I looked as if in shock when I came upstairs from the call. I told her about the call and she promptly said I will be impossible to live with for the rest of the week. I am 31 years old and married for over 11 years. Noreen and I have 3 wonderful children; Matthew 11, Mark 8 and a daughter Nicole 7. I have a small BBS up here in Wilmot, Nova Scotia called Sea Spray BBS. Noreen and I decided on the name one evening while thinking of hundreds. It sounded good to a sailor as myself and it stuck. On the local boards my alias is Salty so it all fits in. I first started BBSing when I downloaded a copy of a number of different BBS types off a local Wildcat BBS. I tried a few but they were so badly crippled or so expensive they were quickly deleted, then I came to SPITFIRE. It was easy to set up (even for me) and I could set up doors and everything right away. Not knowing much of what I was doing, the instructions were straightforward and away I went. I started using our voice phone with my 386sx16, 40 meg HD, and a 2400 baud modem on 23 June 93. Callers had to first call let me answer and then call back for the BBS. Noreen figured no one would call anyway so why not let me have fun in the basement. Well surprise, surprise they actually did call and I soon had some people wanting to pay me to register doors and things WOW. Needless to say the calls were annoying her and I soon got my own phone line as long as I could assure her no LD calls. Well that will be no problem . I soon went out and bought a CD-Rom player to get more files online as the 40 Megs were filling fast and now the kids had no games left on the machine. This Sysop stuff is fun but sure consumes a lot of time but I would not have it any other way. Now running on the same computer with a 170 Meg HD a 14,400 baud modem and a CD-Rom drive with 6 CD's to download or request files from the callers say I have the best BBS in the area and the Sysop actually answers the pages. I really enjoy meeting people through the computer and have many friends that I have not even met. Then along came SFNET. I was already hooked on netmail from another BBS that used to carry Circuit Net and had met a lot of wonderful SF Sysops through there. They had helped me along the way solving the problems I was having getting things to work right, modem inits, etc. Mike was actually going to start a SPITFIRE exclusive message net, Count me in!! How do I sign up? I called Buffalo Creek and Mike broke in and explained the files I would need and I called him back voice that night and was up and running as the SFNET Area Code Hub for 902 area code. Finally I had the contact back with some old friends and a whole slew of new ones. I have since been given the honor of Moderating the BBS Doors Conference which is new to me but I am trying to live up to what is expected and loving it. I want to thank Mike Woltz for writing excellent software in SPITFIRE and the associated utilities which I have gotten so much out of, as well as all the other SPITFIRE Sysops who have helped make SPITFIRE, Sea Spray and SFNET what it is today. I have been running with just the default menus since I started, so I also want to say a special thank you to Adrienne and Louann Alger for fixing me up some ANSI screens the other day which I am putting on the board. Thanks to ALL and God Bless. Eric ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems: Club Paradise.................................206-373-8751...14400 BPS Robert Boursaw, Sysop............................Bremerton, Washington SHARE-IT BBS..................................513-821-5533....2400 BPS Jim Mohr, Sysop..........................................Wyoming, Ohio The Junk Yard BBS.............................601-799-3241...19200 BPS Barry F. Hauser, Sysop...........................Picayune, Mississippi UCDFX, Inc....................................614-878-9010...38400 BPS Paul Nippert, Sysop.....................................Galloway, Ohio The Honey Tree BBS......................011-81-3117-628914...28800 BPS Dwight A. Collins, Sysop...................................APO Address Nirvonna BBS..................................616-691-7653...19200 BPS Dale Wilcox, Sysop....................................Lowell, Michigan Chaotic Mind..................................709-282-3373...14400 BPS Bart MacCara, Sysop...........................Wabush Lab, Newfoundland Mustang Country.........................011-82333-661-3033...14400 BPS Steve Broughton, Sysop.....................................APO Address Bits N' PC'S..................................907-337-6291...28800 BPS R. Jason Newman, Sysop...............................Anchorage, Alaska The Highlander................................205-565-5816...19200 BPS Duncan Meadows, Sr., Sysop..........................Tacoma, Washington Road Kill Cafe................................616-361-0848...19200 BPS Martin Flack, Sysop.............................Grand Rapids, Michigan The Night Owl.................................606-678-2833...14400 BPS Benny Gibson, Sysop.................................Somerset, Kentucky Daddy Longlegs BBS............................817-443-6023....2400 BPS Carl Linde, Sysop....................................Fort Worth, Texas Starlight Computer............................214-496-0729...14400 BPS Brian Hurley, Sysop......................................Sachse, Texas The Q Continuum...............................207-724-2464...14400 BPS Jason Worswick, Sysop..................................Gardiner, Maine The Outer Edge................................601-328-0378...14400 BPS Thom Geiger, Sysop...............................Columbus, Mississippi Continental Cablevision Connection of Jax.....904-733-9617...14400 BPS Continental Cablevision Connection, Sysop........Jacksonville, Florida New Orleans Digital Frontier..................504-398-1962...14400 BPS Matthew Sell, Sysop............................Belle Chasse, Louisiana The Game Keeper BBS...........................408-778-3889...14400 BPS James Morris, Sysop............................Morgan Hill, California Wonk's World BBS..............................817-439-1814...19200 BPS Steven Thomason, Sysop...............................Fort Worth, Texas Transitions BBS...............................905-355-5495....9600 BPS Patti May, Sysop.............................Colborne, Ontario, Canada The Playhouse II BBS..........................513-868-7605...14400 BPS Marvin Bowling, Sysop...................................Hamilton, Ohio Doom Central..................................713-575-0932...14400 BPS Jeff Cruser, Sysop......................................Houston, Texas The Panacea BBS...............................619-366-7942...14400 BPS Tom Kitchell, Sysop............................Joshua Tree, California Unknown BBS...................................702-453-6939...14400 BPS Bill Huff, Sysop.....................................Las Vegas, Nevada Reality Bytes BBS.............................205-469-5861...28800 BPS Lehn Lambert, Sysop.................................Andalusia, Alabama Fishing Haven.................................817-539-6532...28800 BPS Nadine Walsh, Sysop...................................Fort Hood, Texas The OAN Citadel, Sector CD....................816-767-1488...28800 BPS Brian J. Stewart, Sysop............................Grandview, Missouri Pixels N' Bits................................205-222-0030...14400 BPS Larry Defilippi, Sysop...............................Andalusia, Alabama In addition, there was 7 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems registered. The private SPITFIRE BBS was registered to Sysops in Victorville, California; Port Lavaca, Texas; Powell, Tennessee; Sacramento, California; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Friendship, Maryland and Rochester, New York. There were 12 registrations for whom registration information was incomplete. These included BBS's in: Waterville, Maine; Tampa, Florida; Portage, Michigan; Lovelock, Nevada; Fairhope, Alabama; Cranford, New Jersey; Anjou, Quebec, Canada; Des Moines, Iowa; Terrace, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver, Washington; Homedale, Idaho and Great Falls, Montana. The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's policy of accepting on-line Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations. JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions! Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS or The Mother Board BBS.