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Annotation of coherent/d/support/mwcbbs/beta/doc/howto.start, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: Welcome to the mwcbbs! Revision date of this file is December 06, 1991
        !             2: 
        !             3: 
        !             4: This file is divided into the following sections:
        !             5:        Introduction
        !             6:        The mwcbbs interface
        !             7:        News Bulletins
        !             8:        Downloadable software and COHERENT updates
        !             9:        Uploads
        !            10:        Mail
        !            11:        Caveats
        !            12:        Technical Suppport via mwcbbs
        !            13:        Connecting to uunet
        !            14: 
        !            15: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !            16: INTRODUCTION:
        !            17: 
        !            18: Mark Williams Company has set up a COHERENT UUCP node for dial-up use by our
        !            19: customers.  Its purpose is to provide the following services:
        !            20: 
        !            21: 1.  As a remote site for customers to test their UUCP configurations by
        !            22:     calling in to the node.
        !            23: 2.  As a source of news, bug fixes, and public domain software for download by
        !            24:     all customers.  In addition, the system provides a listing of "third party"
        !            25:     software and hardware which works with COHERENT.
        !            26: 3.  As a mail drop for customers who request an account, where correspondence
        !            27:     (electronic mail) from MWC and other customers can be picked up.
        !            28: 
        !            29: 
        !            30: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !            31: The MWCBBS interface:
        !            32: 
        !            33: As a user of mwcbbs, you must download the following file to
        !            34: allow continued access to mwcbbs for other downloadable files:
        !            35: 
        !            36: /usr/spool/uucppublic/downloads/updates/mwcbbs.tar.Z
        !            37: 
        !            38: Once this file has been received, it must be uncompressed and untarred.
        !            39: To uncompress the file, use the following command:
        !            40: 
        !            41:                uncompress mwcbbs.tar
        !            42: 
        !            43: To untar the file to extract its contents, use the following command:
        !            44: 
        !            45:                tar xvf mwcbbs.tar
        !            46: 
        !            47: 
        !            48: The following files are included in mwcbbs.tar.Z:
        !            49: 
        !            50:        mwcbbs          the mwcbbs interface
        !            51:        mwcbbs.man      man page for the interface
        !            52:        Contents.down   data file for public domain downloads
        !            53:        Contents.hints  data file for misc. COHERENT information
        !            54:        Contents.news   data file for MWC and mwcbbs news
        !            55:        Contents.UPD    data file for MWC updates to COHERENT
        !            56:        Maillist        data file of mail accounts on mwcbbs
        !            57:        Net_Maps.CAN    uunet maps of Canadian uucp sites
        !            58:        Net_Maps.USA    uunet maps of U.S. uucp sites
        !            59:        Net_Maps.WORLD  uunet maps of other, non-U.S. sites
        !            60: 
        !            61: The mwcbbs interface, together with its data files, provide a
        !            62: screen driven interface for downloading the available files
        !            63: posted on mwcbbs. Please read the file mwcbbs.man for details
        !            64: on how to use the interface.
        !            65: 
        !            66: The mwcbbs interface will display lists of files which can be selected
        !            67: for downloading. Information about the file, including the size,
        !            68: brief description and other required/recommended files will be displayed.
        !            69: The interface will generate the necessary uucp commands to download the 
        !            70: file(s) from mwcbbs. 
        !            71: 
        !            72: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !            73: NEWS BULLETINS:
        !            74: 
        !            75: The directory:
        !            76:        /usr/spool/uucppublic/mwcnews/
        !            77: 
        !            78: contains news bulletins from MWC. It will always contain at least four
        !            79: files:
        !            80: 
        !            81:        howto.start     - the file you are reading now
        !            82:        Maillist        - a list of id's and aliases to which you can send
        !            83:                          mail on mwcbbs
        !            84:        news            - latest news from MWC
        !            85:        Contents.news   - an annotated listing of all news bulletins available
        !            86: 
        !            87: The contents of "news" are updated on a weekly basis.  To read the latest
        !            88: news bulletin, use the mwcbbs interface and select the Contents.news file
        !            89: when prompted to select a file. Highlite the 'news' item on the selection
        !            90: screen and press <return>. Follow the instructions on the following data
        !            91: screens to download the file.
        !            92: 
        !            93: Each month, a new news file is kept for that month's news. For a listing
        !            94: of past news posted to mwcbbs, download the file 'history' which is also
        !            95: listed in the data file Contents.news.
        !            96: 
        !            97: The directory:
        !            98: 
        !            99:        /usr/spool/uucpublic/mwcnews/hints
        !           100: 
        !           101: is an extension of the mwcnews directory in the respect that it contains
        !           102: news regarding COHERENT. Most noteably, postings from the uunet newsgroup
        !           103: comp.os.coherent can be found here. Select the Contents.hints file when
        !           104: prompted for a file by the interface program for a listing of news files
        !           105: available in this directory.
        !           106: 
        !           107: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           108: DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE AND COHERENT UPDATES:
        !           109: 
        !           110: The directory:
        !           111: 
        !           112:        /usr/spool/uucppublic/downloads
        !           113: 
        !           114: contains all available public domain software and shareware packages which
        !           115: have been ported to COHERENT that have been obtained by the Mark Williams
        !           116: Company or otherwise uploaded to mwcbbs by other COHERENT users. To access
        !           117: these files via the mwcbbs interface, select the Contents.down file when
        !           118: prompted to select a file.
        !           119: 
        !           120: The directory:
        !           121: 
        !           122:        /usr/spool/uucppublic/downloads/updates
        !           123: 
        !           124: contains updates to the COHERENT OS posted by the Mark Williams Company.
        !           125: Updates posted by MWC are copywritten postings and can not be distributed.
        !           126: To access these updatesvia the mwcbbs interface, select the Contents.UPD
        !           127: file when prompted to select a file.
        !           128: 
        !           129: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           130: 
        !           131: HOW DOWNLOADABLE FILES ARE PACKED:
        !           132: 
        !           133: If a file is larger than 50000 bytes, it will generally be split into
        !           134: several files of no greater than 50000 bytes. In case of a file transfer
        !           135: becoming somehow corrupted or a transmission interrupted, it will be 
        !           136: much easier to download a single 50000 byte file (if a corruption can 
        !           137: be narrowed down to one file) than a 500000 byte file and less expensive.
        !           138: 
        !           139: If a file is more than 50000 bytes in size, the mwcbbs interface will
        !           140: generate the commands to download all of the smaller, split files that
        !           141: the larger file was divided into.
        !           142: 
        !           143: In most cases, downloads consist of several files which must be compiled
        !           144: to build an executable command/utility. The files which are used to build
        !           145: an executable are stored in a tar archive and compressed. When a file is
        !           146: downloaded, it must first be uncompressed (if the filename ends with a '.Z')
        !           147: with the uncompress command and then untarred.
        !           148: 
        !           149: Ie... After downloading unzip.tar.Z, follow these sequences of commands
        !           150: to uncompress and untar the files necessary to build the unzip command:
        !           151: 
        !           152:        uncompress unzip.tar
        !           153:        tar xvf unzip.tar
        !           154: - or -
        !           155: 
        !           156:        zcat unzip.tar | tar xvf -
        !           157: 
        !           158: Either method will uncompress and untar the files needed to build the
        !           159: unizp command. Look at any 'readme' or 'notes' files for special
        !           160: instructions associated with any tarred archive.
        !           161: 
        !           162: 
        !           163: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           164: UPLOADS:
        !           165: 
        !           166: If you wish to post public domain software to the BBS, you can upload files
        !           167: to the directory:
        !           168:        /usr/spool/uucppublic/uploads/
        !           169: 
        !           170: For example, to send a file named "foo" to mwcbbs, you can use:
        !           171: 
        !           172:        uucp foo mwcbbs!/usr/spool/uucppublic/uploads/
        !           173: 
        !           174: Files uploaded to the BBS will not be made available to other users of the
        !           175: board until they have been checked by Mark Williams Co. staff.  Any files
        !           176: uploaded to the BBS which are not public domain will not be made available
        !           177: to other users of the BBS. Shareware software may be posted, but these
        !           178: decisions will be made on a package by package basis.
        !           179: 
        !           180: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           181: MAIL:
        !           182: 
        !           183: You may establish a mail account on mwcbbs by mailing a request to
        !           184: mwcbbs!admin.  A separate uucp account for your system will be created. 
        !           185: 
        !           186: Mail your account request, including your sitename, your local login name
        !           187: at your site, state (or country if not in the United States) and city your 
        !           188: site is located in to mwcbbs!admin. Also include a daytime phone number
        !           189: (just in case).
        !           190: 
        !           191: Allow about 5 days for the account to be created and then download a copy
        !           192: of 'Maillist' using the interface program. Select the data file Contents.news
        !           193: to download 'Maillist'. When you see that your site is listed, change the 
        !           194: MYNAME= statement in your /usr/lib/uucp/Permissions entry for mwcbbs 
        !           195: from 'bbsuser' to your sitename. In many cases, the MYNAME statement may 
        !           196: be removed from the mwcbbs entry.
        !           197: 
        !           198: If you do not see that your sitename has appeared in the maillist, contact
        !           199: us and we'll get the ball rolling again.
        !           200: 
        !           201: After your account has been created, you will be able to send files or
        !           202: mail messages to anyone on the list via the bbs.
        !           203: 
        !           204: For a listing of active mail accounts on mwcbbs, select the Maillist
        !           205: file when prompted to select a file by the interface program. The interface
        !           206: will display a listing of to 50 U.S. states plus two other options. These
        !           207: other options will show lists of mail accounts outside of the U.S. and 
        !           208: those accounts for which the state or country of a site is not known.
        !           209: 
        !           210: For example:
        !           211: 
        !           212:    if "Maillist" says that user "luthor" is on system "llsys", you could send
        !           213:    mail to him from your local system via the path mwcbbs!llsys!luthor.  The
        !           214:    mail for luthor will be sent to mwcbbs the next time your local system polls
        !           215:    mwcbbs;  luthor will get the mail the next time he polls mwcbbs after that.
        !           216: 
        !           217: 
        !           218: Use of individual accounts will be monitored by the BBS administrator.
        !           219: Accounts which are inactive for a month or more will be removed.
        !           220: 
        !           221: If you intend to use mwcbbs as a means of obtaining technical support,
        !           222: a mail account for your system MUST be established. Always include a
        !           223: phone number that we can reach you at when corresponding electronically
        !           224: with MWC via mwcbbs in case there is difficulty in mailing a return message.
        !           225: 
        !           226: Note that mwcbbs is not physically connected to any remote systems, nor
        !           227: does it have the ability to call other systems;  therefore you should not
        !           228: expect to be able to reach uunet through mwcbbs.  If and when this service
        !           229: is provided, the users of mwcbbs with individual accounts will be notified.
        !           230: 
        !           231: Information regarding system downtime and other administrative matters will
        !           232: be posted to
        !           233: 
        !           234:        /usr/spool/uucppublic/mwcnews/news
        !           235: 
        !           236: You may wish to download this file each time you poll mwcbbs.
        !           237: 
        !           238: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           239: CAVEATS:
        !           240: 
        !           241: The Mark Williams Company offers no guarantee of any software made available
        !           242: on mwcbbs. The system will be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week,
        !           243: except for occasional maintenance.
        !           244: 
        !           245: The Mark Williams Co. offers no support or other technical assistance for
        !           246: software posted on mwcbbs, with the exception of software which the Mark
        !           247: Williams Co. itself posts for the purposes of enhancing Coherent.
        !           248: 
        !           249: 
        !           250: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           251: TECHNICAL SUPPORT VIA MWCBBS:
        !           252: 
        !           253: If you have any technical questions regarding Coherent, you may mail them to
        !           254: mwcbbs!support.  Please remember to include your name, serial number and a
        !           255: phone number so that we may respond to your inquiry.  If you do not include
        !           256: your serial number, we will not respond to your messages.
        !           257: 
        !           258: If you experience any problems using mwcbbs, please contact our tech.
        !           259: support department at (708)-291-6700 (voice), or (708)-291-6750 (fax).
        !           260: 
        !           261: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        !           262: CONNECTING TO UUNET:
        !           263: 
        !           264: In the directory /usr/spool/uucppublic/mwcnews you can download a file
        !           265: named howto.uunet.Z. This file contains information on downloading network
        !           266: maps and information on how to use these maps to access uunet.
        !           267: 
        !           268: Mwcbbs has a library of net maps. The mwcbbs interface program will allow
        !           269: to access them by selecting the 'Net Maps' option when prompted to select
        !           270: a file from the opening menu. You will be further provided with the options
        !           271: to select U.S. net maps (arranged by area code), Canadian net maps (also
        !           272: arranged by area code) or net maps of the world (organized by country or
        !           273: state).
        !           274: 
        !           275: After choosing one of these 3 options, a screen of net maps organized
        !           276: by area code, country or state (depending upon which net map option
        !           277: was selected) will be displayed. A map can be downloaded by highliting
        !           278: it on the screen and pressing <return>.

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