I'm looking for a way to try out bbbs for linux without all the limitations of the unregistered version. Is there any "known" way of doing that? :)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

On Sun, 2 Jun 2024 21:45:10 -0700, you wrote:

I'm looking for a way to try out bbbs for linux without all the
limitations of the unregistered version. Is there any "known" way of
doing that? :)

Not that I know of, and the developer is still around (nodelisted in Fidonet, and reachable via the website), so you may be better off trying out the unregistered version to see if it's worth continuing with it.

As far as I know about 3-4 people still use it on Fidonet. If you avoid Fidonet like the plague, then you can probably find Alan Ianson/Bucko at "The Rusty Mailbox" on FSXnet or Agoranet (unless he's here, too).

The only "limitation" that I can see in a non-registered version is user's time online being limited to 31 minutes. And maybe the lowest number of nodes (2). Otherwise, looks like the cheapest he's offering it is $100 USD.

Probably why I never installed it. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

I'm looking for a way to try out bbbs for linux without all the limitations of the unregistered version. Is there any "known" way of doing that? :)

Not that I know of, and the developer is still around (nodelisted in Fidonet, and reachable via the website), so you may be better off trying out the unregistered version to see if it's worth continuing with it.

Thanks for this info. I've tried the unregistered version and it seems pretty cool.

The only "limitation" that I can see in a non-registered version is
user's time online being limited to 31 minutes. And maybe the lowest number of nodes (2). Otherwise, looks like the cheapest he's offering it is $100 USD.

Probably why I never installed it. :)

Same here. I just don't think it's worth that much money, but it's a nifty software.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

On Tue, 4 Jun 2024 10:01:22 -0700, you wrote:

Thanks for this info. I've tried the unregistered version and it seems pretty cool.

No problem. It made me do some digging I never really wanted to do. Which also convinced me to download 4.01 Flag, the Toy-7 update, and install the damn thing to see what we were even talking about. :)

Probably why I never installed it. :)

Same here. I just don't think it's worth that much money, but it's a
nifty software.

I was having issues trying to figure out the pricing scheme for a bit there.

Even though you don't *need* dialup/ISDN lines, you have to buy a minimum of 2 of those (phone nodes). So for a 2 node license it's $60.

$80 for 2 phone nodes and 5 local nodes (7 nodes, basically).

Keep in mind, whatever that BRobocop AI and/or maintenance thing is, it takes up a node when it's running, which from connecting to the WHQ via telnet, seems like it's always running. So a 2 node license would only actually give you one node, etc.

While it did seem like a pretty decent software with a lot of features and very Linux-esque look and feel, I have absolutely no desire to pay for it.

Unfortunately, there's 3-4 sysops left on Fidonet that did pay for it, so it might be off-limits for the time being. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Wed, 5 Jun 2024 00:54:06 -0500, you wrote:

While it did seem like a pretty decent software with a lot of features
and very Linux-esque look and feel, I have absolutely no desire to pay
for it.

Addendum: I played with it logged in locally as the sysop (first created user) for maybe about 30 minutes, which is about all it took to realize I didn't like the actual experience, but I'm sure if you REALLY dove into it and changed all the defaults, learned how to do that bzscripting stuff, you could probably make it interesting. :(

Now that I've actually tried it, I have no interest in doing it again. lol

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

I'm looking for a way to try out bbbs for linux without all the limitations of the unregistered version. Is there any "known" way of
doing that? :)

You piqued my interest so I gave it a whirl and can basically say I'm not a fan :P Oh well hehe. Was fun to mess with.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Addendum: I played with it logged in locally as the sysop (first created user) for maybe about 30 minutes, which is about all it took to realize
I didn't like the actual experience, but I'm sure if you REALLY dove
into it and changed all the defaults, learned how to do that bzscripting stuff, you could probably make it interesting. :(

Now that I've actually tried it, I have no interest in doing it again.
lol

This is exactly how I felt after messing with it for about an hour :P

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Accession was heard saying....

Addendum: I played with it logged in locally as the sysop (first created user) for maybe about 30 minutes, which is about all it took to realize
I didn't like the actual experience, but I'm sure if you REALLY dove
into it and changed all the defaults, learned how to do that bzscripting stuff, you could probably make it interesting. :(

I've never liked the interface for that one. I know fix.no (I think that is/was the URL) was teh most modified one I ever saw, but it was still
bbbs. LOL


Shawn

... Eagles may fly but weasels aren't sucked into jets.
* Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg]
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

I've never liked the interface for that one. I know fix.no (I think that is/was the URL) was teh most modified one I ever saw, but it was still bbbs. LOL

Yep, I think you're right. I still don't really understand how to navigate it lol.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

On Wed, 5 Jun 2024 11:24:00 -0500, you wrote:

I've never liked the interface for that one. I know fix.no (I think that is/was the URL) was teh most modified one I ever saw, but it was still bbbs. LOL

Yeah, I hear ya. I believe fix.no was what the screenshots were of on the BBBS website, to promote what you could do with the software or whatever. I agree, it's still BBBS.

Now this whole ordeal is making me wonder what MBSE looks like from a sysop's POV. Maybe I'll check it out at some point, but with any updates (much like BBBS) happening _maybe_ once per year, I already have a negative opinion on it.

Maybe I'm just spoiled with the stuff I've already chose to use. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Wed, 5 Jun 2024 13:42:56 -0700, you wrote:

Yep, I think you're right. I still don't really understand how to
navigate it lol.

I started to, and that's about the time I started disliking it. Even found what I took as a pretty stellar bug in the GNUS command for a full screen reader thing.

First off, I couldn't display a message I already posted and read, and second, when I hit like F10 or something (I was trying every key combination I could think of to get it to do anything), it displayed what looked like a shitty stat screen which included "Time Left:", and every time I pressed F10-F12 again, it took a minute away from my time left online for the day. :D

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

While it did seem like a pretty decent software with a lot of features
and very Linux-esque look and feel, I have absolutely no desire to pay
for it.

There was a BBS called Prizm BBS that ran bbbs. It was a cool bbs. The sysop had a web server set up complete with message reading and editing, and it was smooth.

I find the documentation hard to follow. It's a lot different from common BBS softwares. But, I'll keep at it.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

I'm looking for a way to try out bbbs for linux without all the limitations of the unregistered version. Is there any "known" way of doing that? :)

You piqued my interest so I gave it a whirl and can basically say I'm
not a fan :P Oh well hehe. Was fun to mess with.

The web server is the cool part.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

On Wed, 5 Jun 2024 20:22:56 -0700, you wrote:

There was a BBS called Prizm BBS that ran bbbs. It was a cool bbs. The sysop had a web server set up complete with message reading and editing, and it was smooth.

Yeah, pretty sure that's Janis's system, and it's probably still up.

I find the documentation hard to follow. It's a lot different from
common BBS softwares. But, I'll keep at it.

It was written by a Finlander (or two maybe, Kim Heino is for sure, I just don't know about the other guy), I believe. So English was definitely not their first language.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Now this whole ordeal is making me wonder what MBSE looks like from a sysop's POV. Maybe I'll check it out at some point, but with any updates (much like BBBS) happening _maybe_ once per year, I already have a negative opinion on it.

I experimented with this around the time Demonic was getting stood back up and remember having the same 'meh' feeling about it as I just had with BBBS. I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around with it yourself hehe.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

I started to, and that's about the time I started disliking it. Even
found what I took as a pretty stellar bug in the GNUS command for a full screen reader thing.

Oh I didn't even play around with messages. I didn't get that far lol. I did download a bunch of addons with intent to play around with them but there's really not much point and there are better BBS related activities I can devote my time and effor to.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Accession was heard saying....

Now this whole ordeal is making me wonder what MBSE looks like from a sysop's POV. Maybe I'll check it out at some point, but with any updates (much like BBBS) happening _maybe_ once per year, I already have a
negative opinion on it.

I ran mbse for a while a few years back. It does remind me (yes even from sysop end) of remote access in a way. I did not like the way the menus
worked for adding echomail areas. That's just me though... I prefer txt
config so I can make changes using an editor that supports many layers of
un do. :)

Maybe I'm just spoiled with the stuff I've already chose to use. :)

This 100%. Now if you want to look at a good one I do recomend Talisman.
It's modern, expandable, easy to customize etc. However already running
a modified sync setup there is really nothing any other package does that
you can't do.



Shawn

... Dream when you're asleep. Roleplay when you're awake.
* Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg]
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On Thu, 6 Jun 2024 06:51:32 -0700, you wrote:

I experimented with this around the time Demonic was getting stood back
up and remember having the same 'meh' feeling about it as I just had
with BBBS. I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around with it yourself hehe.

After I wrote that, I had some deja vu anyways. I'm certain I've tried MBSE before, both from a sysop and the user's perspective. I don't really remember what it looks like, but I suppose, if I'm not using it or at least had it setup somewhere playing around with it, I'm fairly certain I didn't care for it then, so I doubt it would change now.

There. I just gave myself some extra free time to do something else. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Thu, 6 Jun 2024 06:52:52 -0700, you wrote:

Oh I didn't even play around with messages. I didn't get that far lol. I did download a bunch of addons with intent to play around with them but there's really not much point and there are better BBS related
activities I can devote my time and effor to.

HAHA, yeah man. I went through just about every command to see what would pop up on the next screen. Hoping that one of them would intrigue me at least a little bit. Nope.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Thu, 6 Jun 2024 11:44:00 -0500, you wrote:

I ran mbse for a while a few years back. It does remind me (yes even from sysop end) of remote access in a way. I did not like the way the menus worked for adding echomail areas. That's just me though... I prefer txt config so I can make changes using an editor that supports many layers of un do. :)

I know I've tried it, I just don't remember it. That tells me about all I need to know. :)

Maybe I'm just spoiled with the stuff I've already chose to use. :)

This 100%. Now if you want to look at a good one I do recomend Talisman. It's modern, expandable, easy to customize etc. However already running
a modified sync setup there is really nothing any other package does that you can't do.

I have taken a look at Talisman and Enigma 1/2 already. Both look like good clean softwares, with two completely differen't ends of the spectrum when it comes to modding and/or scripting. Both, of which I have no idea about. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

There. I just gave myself some extra free time to do something else. :)

I hate to admit this but now there's a part of me that wants to go install MBSE and poke around. Ugh...

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Quoting Accession to Tiny <=-

I know I've tried it, I just don't remember it. That tells me about
all I need to know. :)

Laugh.

I have taken a look at Talisman and Enigma 1/2 already. Both look like good clean softwares, with two completely differen't ends of the
spectrum when it comes to modding and/or scripting. Both, of which I
have no idea about. :)

I found the lua side of Talisman to be fairly easy to modify. Just as I
was started to really get into that aspect of it I burned out and no longer wanted to run the BBS. Since i'm just "calling" boards now I have the part
of the BBS I like, without having to deal with modern script kiddiez.


... If you've seen one REDWOOD tree, you've seen 'em all.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On Fri, 7 Jun 2024 00:11:04 -0700, you wrote:

I hate to admit this but now there's a part of me that wants to go
install MBSE and poke around. Ugh...

"I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around with it yourself hehe."

Sorry for bringing up old shit. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Fri, 7 Jun 2024 11:56:00 -0500, you wrote:

I found the lua side of Talisman to be fairly easy to modify. Just as I was started to really get into that aspect of it I burned out and no longer wanted to run the BBS. Since i'm just "calling" boards now I have the part of the BBS I like, without having to deal with modern script kiddiez.

I'm honestly light years behind in the programming category. Started dabbling this past year with jamnntpd and smapinntpd, and know how to modify Synchronet's javascript, but that's about as far as I've pushed myself. :)

To look at another language would probably undo everything I've already learned. lol

You encountered some script kiddies while running your BBS? Do tell..

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

"I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around
with it yourself hehe."

What kind of moron came up with this drivel?

:P

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Quoting Accession to Tiny <=-

To look at another language would probably undo everything I've
already learned. lol

Naaa. It's not hard to pick up languages. I learned wcbasic, pascal,
some LUA etc.

You encountered some script kiddies while running your BBS? Do tell..

Mainly they destroyed my wall of babble so I had to disconnect taht from
my website, then they just kept trying to crash the computer by connecting
a hundred thousand times a second. Just nonsense like that. No real issues just annoying.

Shawn

... Daddy, why doesn't this magnet pick up your diskettes?
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 03:19:58 -0700, you wrote:

"I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around
with it yourself hehe."

What kind of moron came up with this drivel?

I don't know, but whoever it was, may have some real psychic abilities there.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 12:09:00 -0500, you wrote:

You encountered some script kiddies while running your BBS? Do tell..

Mainly they destroyed my wall of babble so I had to disconnect taht from
my website, then they just kept trying to crash the computer by connecting a hundred thousand times a second. Just nonsense like that. No real issues
just annoying.

Uh oh. Who did you piss off?

These days it's kinda hard pressed to believe it *wasn't* someone already involved in BBSing. I mean, people are testing out AI bots and all that crap just to stir up arguments in the very few echos and networks that are still active. So, anything is possible.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Naaa. It's not hard to pick up languages. I learned wcbasic, pascal, some LUA etc.

I need to spend some time learning wcbasic. I (like an idiot) paid for basically everything Santronics has to offer a year or so ago and have done nothing with it since :P

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Mainly they destroyed my wall of babble so I had to disconnect taht from my website, then they just kept trying to crash the computer by
connecting a hundred thousand times a second. Just nonsense like that. No real issues just annoying.

That sucks man, sorry.

This is one of the reasons I'm fearful of running any internet-facing services on my home LAN. I do all my BBS stuff on a cloud VPS. This comes with a cost, particularly if I want to have a decent amount of storage, but the security nerd in me thinks it's worth it.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 03:19:58 -0700, you wrote:

"I encourage you to go inevitably get disappointed by messing around
with it yourself hehe."

What kind of moron came up with this drivel?

By the way, my fault for not taking your advice.

Please do try it so we can further discuss the ridiculousness. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

This is one of the reasons I'm fearful of running any internet-facing services on my home LAN. I do all my BBS stuff on a cloud VPS. This
comes with a cost, particularly if I want to have a decent amount of storage, but the security nerd in me thinks it's worth it.

While its not the way I do it, I've found that using NFS to connect a dataset TO a could VPS it quick enough for the like of BBS downloads... in the worse scenario I've found setting the file areas to CD-Rom at least prompts the user as to why things might be taking a few seconds.

On Mystic you can even update the prompt to say WHY, instead of 'Copying from CD-Rom'... yer BBS is so elite tho, I can't figure out the IP. :P



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

By the way, my fault for not taking your advice.

Lol. So not super impressed with MBSE, eh? :P

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

While its not the way I do it, I've found that using NFS to connect a dataset TO a could VPS it quick enough for the like of BBS downloads...
in the worse scenario I've found setting the file areas to CD-Rom at
least prompts the user as to why things might be taking a few seconds.

This seems like a good idea. Maybe I can get some cheap storage on Amazon and connect it to my BBS.

On Mystic you can even update the prompt to say WHY, instead of 'Copying from CD-Rom'... yer BBS is so elite tho, I can't figure out the IP. :P

It's been closed since forever, don't worry ;) I need to sit down and actually work on it more, I've been noodling around with too much side crap. Honestly I was hoping to run Daydream but I am having a lot of problems with file transfers which I can't figure out, so I may have to use something else. We'll see.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 20:23:54 -0700, you wrote:

By the way, my fault for not taking your advice.

Lol. So not super impressed with MBSE, eh? :P

I don't even really know yet, to be honest. I've made it to mbconfig I believe it was, but getting to that point was a royal pain in the ass.

Needless to say, I've contacted one of the main developers to ask why the hell it installs so many directory trees and why it's such a hot mess off the default install.

There's absolutely no need to install to /opt/mbse, then also /usr/local/opt/mbse, create /home/mbse and /home/mbse/home/bbs (these are created users during the install process, so why not /home/mbse and /home/bbs - even so, is all of that really necessary?).

I don't think I've ever seen any other software do something on that level of stupid. :(

Unarchiving it, creating the user directories I could see, although not on top of each other, and then installing to /opt/mbse *OR* /usr/local/opt/mbse (or even /home/mbse since that's the operation user, apparantly) would be fine, but all of that?

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderb
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 12:09:00 -0500, you wrote:

a hundred thousand times a second. Just nonsense like that. No real

Uh oh. Who did you piss off?

I'm not sure. :) Obviously someone.

These days it's kinda hard pressed to believe it *wasn't* someone already A>involved in BBSing. I mean, people are testing out AI bots and all
that crap just to stir up arguments in the very few echos and networks
that are still active. So, anything is posible.

I believe it was someone already involved. I just didn't bother getting
worked up over it because I was pretty much finished with the whole
being a sysop thing anyway. :)
---
þ QMPro 1.53 þ Call me insane one more time and I'll eat your other eye!
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

I need to spend some time learning wcbasic. I (like an idiot) paid
for basically everything Santronics has to offer a year or so ago and
have done nothing with it since :P

Shawn
---
þ QMPro 1.53 þ Can you believe that thing is STILL moving?
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

Quoting Esc to Tiny <=-

This is one of the reasons I'm fearful of running any internet-facing services on my home LAN. I do all my BBS stuff on a cloud VPS. This
comes with a cost, particularly if I want to have a decent amount of storage, but the security nerd in me thinks it's worth it.

I didnt' run it at home for years. Possibly as long as 10 years it was
run on another network, I just didn't have a stable connection for a long
time and once I did.... why change?

Shawn

... Menu: A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

Hello Tiny,

On Sun, Jun 09 2024 11:29:00 -0500, you wrote:

I believe it was someone already involved. I just didn't bother getting worked up over it because I was pretty much finished with the whole
being a sysop thing anyway. :)

I mean, you have been doing this since dinosaurs roamed the earth. So, I can sympathise with you there.

On that note, the last two days I've scanned Fidonet for new messages, and there was maybe two messages by real people (not bots). It's getting rough over there, was probably a good time to leave it behind and join the userbase, anyways.

â–  QMPro 1.53 â–  Call me insane one more time and I'll eat your other eye!

Would that be a tearline from QModem Pro? If so, THAT brings back some memories. :)

Procomm Plus for DOS and QModem Pro for DOS were my go-to's back in the day. Then I believe QModem Pro (maybe Procomm did as well, but I don't think I used it) came out with a Windows version (2.x or 3.x maybe?) and it never worked the same as the DOS version. But exiting out of Windows to use a terminal program was more of a pain in the ass to me than just using a janky Windows version, so I dealt with it for awhile.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- slrn/pre1.0.4-9 (Linux)
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Hello Tiny,

On Sun, Jun 09 2024 11:36:00 -0500, you wrote:

This is one of the reasons I'm fearful of running any internet-facing
services on my home LAN. I do all my BBS stuff on a cloud VPS. This
comes with a cost, particularly if I want to have a decent amount of
storage, but the security nerd in me thinks it's worth it.

I didnt' run it at home for years. Possibly as long as 10 years it was
run on another network, I just didn't have a stable connection for a long time and once I did.... why change?

Once you've set everything up, and get used to connecting to it via telnet/ssh/whatever, it becomes second nature. So much so that it becomes difficult to change everything up to another method.

I have my server machine sitting on the floor by my left leg, headless. I can ssh into it whenever I want (as I am right now), or use the web interface to interact with ESXi to add/remove VMs. I have a super stable internet connection as well, so it's pretty much a big red "easy" button. I can't see myself ever changing from this setup, except for the fact I have no idea how long the hardware will last. It's setup in a RAID 1, but I have no idea if the hotplugging will work if one drive fails. It's been running for 7+ years now without issue, but, that's not saying something could happen at some point leaving me up shit's creek without a a paddle. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- slrn/pre1.0.4-9 (Linux)
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Quoting Accession to Tiny <=-

I mean, you have been doing this since dinosaurs roamed the earth. So,
I can sympathise with you there.

LOL Sometimes it feels like that.

getting rough over there, was probably a good time to leave it behind
and join the userbase, anyways.

It's just the echomail in the morning I like anyway, so this is perfect.
Things go wrong I email you. LOL

þ QMPro 1.53 þ Call me insane one more time and I'll eat your other eye!

Would that be a tearline from QModem Pro? If so, THAT brings back some memories. :)

Laugh, yes. I was playing with it yesterday; I used to use QMP and was
hoping to be able to use it again due to the scripting. However none of the old dos terminals seem to be able to work with modern Mystic boards.

Just sticking with my Magiterm setup for now.

Procomm Plus for DOS and QModem Pro for DOS were my go-to's back in
the day. Then I believe QModem Pro (maybe Procomm did as well, but I
don't think I used it) came out with a Windows version (2.x or 3.x
maybe?) and it never worked the same as the DOS version. But exiting
out of Windows to use a terminal program was more of a pain in the ass
to me than just using a janky Windows version, so I dealt with it for awhile.

I have procom for windows installed as well. As you said it works but not
very well. LOL Granted that's in my dosbox/windows 3.1 but yeah... Also
have olxwin and some other qwk readers installed but at the end of the day
I prefer the way a dos program looks.

Shawn

... My IQ test came back negative.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

Quoting Accession to Tiny <=-

Once you've set everything up, and get used to connecting to it via telnet/ssh/whatever, it becomes second nature. So much so that it

Exactly. I used to connect to it using vnc when I needed to do anything.

work if one drive fails. It's been running for 7+ years now without
issue, but, that's not saying something could happen at some point
leaving me up shit's creek without a a paddle. :)

That happened to me years and years and years ago. I thought I had things backed up but the old qwk80 tape was bad and the software didn't report
the error.

Thankfully it was only the BBS I lost. Sure it was the most customized telegard ever. Tim Strike called once and left feedback "I had no idea
you could do this with telegard!".

I think I had modified every single prompt. LOL Back when I was young
and was paid to sit in a shed and stare at a gate all night. I would plan
it all out on paper at work then go home and make it work. Until I got an
old laptop then I used that. LOL

Shawn

... The wages of sin are unreported.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

There's absolutely no need to install to /opt/mbse, then also /usr/local/opt/mbse, create /home/mbse and /home/mbse/home/bbs (these are created users during the install process, so why not /home/mbse and /home/bbs - even so, is all of that really necessary?).

I think I just threw up in my own mouth

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

þ QMPro 1.53 þ Call me insane one more time and I'll eat your other

Would that be a tearline from QModem Pro? If so, THAT brings back som memories. :)

Laugh, yes. I was playing with it yesterday; I used to use QMP and was hoping to be able to use it again due to the scripting. However none of the old dos terminals seem to be able to work with modern Mystic boards.

Do you recall what kind of problems you've had with DOS terminals connecting to mystic boards? I am able to call into 20 For Beers using Telix in DOSBox-X (but I did patch some issues in the telnet interface) and it seems to work alright - I do have to enable 'doorway mode' for the arrow keys to work, and had to disable the status bar since 2oFB wants a 25 line screen.

As you've probably seen me mention I've spent some time playing with DOSBox (specifically the DOSBox-X branch) and telnet BBSes, I am real curious to learn of quirks/issues I might not have run into yet.


Chris/akacastor

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Hello esc,

On Mon, Jun 10 2024 11:24:42 -0500, you wrote:

There's absolutely no need to install to /opt/mbse, then also
/usr/local/opt/mbse, create /home/mbse and /home/mbse/home/bbs (these are
created users during the install process, so why not /home/mbse and
/home/bbs - even so, is all of that really necessary?).

I think I just threw up in my own mouth

I just got a response, it may actually be an issue with the install script on FreeBSD.

So, if you're using Linux, just swallow that throw up and install it so you can let me know how it went. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- slrn/pre1.0.4-9 (Linux)
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Quoting Akacastor to Tiny <=-

Do you recall what kind of problems you've had with DOS terminals connecting to mystic boards? I am able to call into 20 For Beers

When displaying ANSI screens, all of a sudden some of the characters
were [s [h [o [w [n like that.

interface) and it seems to work alright - I do have to enable 'doorway mode' for the arrow keys to work, and had to disable the status bar
since 2oFB wants a 25 line screen.

I think that was normal with telux... it's been a long time but I remember having to know the hotkey for doorway mode as the BBS interfaces got more
and more complex.

DOSBox (specifically the DOSBox-X branch) and telnet BBSes, I am real curious to learn of quirks/issues I might not have run into yet.

I'm using dosbox-x now. But I also have dosbox installed.

Shawn

... I was abducted by aliens and all I got was this lousy implant.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

I just got a response, it may actually be an issue with the install
script on FreeBSD.

So, if you're using Linux, just swallow that throw up and install it so you can let me know how it went. :)

Ah I see :P I'll play your game, you rogue (Sean Connery accent)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Hello esc,

On Tue, Jun 11 2024 10:11:28 -0500, you wrote:

I just got a response, it may actually be an issue with the install
script on FreeBSD.

So, if you're using Linux, just swallow that throw up and install it so
you can let me know how it went. :)

Ah I see :P I'll play your game, you rogue (Sean Connery accent)

I think there's only like 4 people using MBSE religiously, and at least half of them are listed as developers. So, since they've probably had it installed for years already, they probably just haven't gotten much feedback from newly installed sysops.

Everything I'm using is up-to-date right now, so since I'm bored maybe we should just give them a serious influx of bug reports and feature requests to put their asses to work. :)

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- slrn/pre1.0.4-9 (Linux)
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

Do you recall what kind of problems you've had with DOS terminals connecting to mystic boards? I am able to call into 20 For Beers

When displaying ANSI screens, all of a sudden some of the characters
were [s [h [o [w [n like that.

Hmm, interesting, I wonder if it's an ANSI bug in Telix or an issue somewhere else. I don't think I have run into that same issue. Though I primarily use SyncTerm right now and tend to use Telix in DOSBox-X sporadically and for testing things out.

If you're interested in trying to troubleshoot this, it is something that interests me. I've been spending quite a bit of time tinkering with DOSBox-X (and a little bit looking at other forks).

If you happen to know anywhere that the ANSI display issue is repeatable, that would definitely help me reproduce it. Or is it more sporadic?

interface) and it seems to work alright - I do have to enable 'doorwa mode' for the arrow keys to work, and had to disable the status bar since 2oFB wants a 25 line screen.

I think that was normal with telux... it's been a long time but I
remember having to know the hotkey for doorway mode as the BBS
interfaces got more and more complex.

Yep I think you're right. Alt-= for doorway mode in Telix, that one is somehow still burned into my brain. :) I don't remember actually needing it often in the 90s, but I guess I must have used it enough for it to end up in permanent memory. haha

DOSBox (specifically the DOSBox-X branch) and telnet BBSes, I am real curious to learn of quirks/issues I might not have run into yet.

I'm using dosbox-x now. But I also have dosbox installed.

Cool, I am also using DOSBox-X primarily. I am on a M2 Mac right now, but I also run DOSBox-X in Linux for my BBS, and in Windows on another PC.


Chris/akacastor

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Naaa. It's not hard to pick up languages. I learned wcbasic, pascal some LUA etc.

I need to spend some time learning wcbasic. I (like an idiot) paid for basically everything Santronics has to offer a year or so ago and have done nothing with it since :P

Is WC! for Windows/DOS only, or is there linux version?

It would be cool to see a fully functional WC! BBS again.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

Is WC! for Windows/DOS only, or is there linux version?

It would be cool to see a fully functional WC! BBS again.

Windows only. Well, DOS if you want to use V4.0 or earlier. For modern Wildcat!, it's just 32 bit, and it's now called Winserver. And it's expensive as hell.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

Quoting Akacastor to Tiny <=-

Hmm, interesting, I wonder if it's an ANSI bug in Telix or an issue somewhere else. I don't think I have run into that same issue.

Could be a setting here too. Not going to rule that out.

Though I primarily use SyncTerm right now and tend to use Telix in DOSBox-X sporadically and for testing things out.

I use magiterm for the most part. Just looking for something I could use
to automate the downloading/uploading of the offline mail packets.

If you happen to know anywhere that the ANSI display issue is
repeatable, that would definitely help me reproduce it. Or is it more sporadic?

It happens on any ANSI heavy or long ansi screen for me.

Shawn

... I'm not as think as you stoned I am.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

Hmm, interesting, I wonder if it's an ANSI bug in Telix or an issue somewhere else. I don't think I have run into that same issue.

Could be a setting here too. Not going to rule that out.

What OS are you running? I spend most of my time in macOS but I do also run DOSBox in Windows and Linux. I'm just curious what you are running so I can maybe try to replicate the setup here.

I use magiterm for the most part. Just looking for something I could use to automate the downloading/uploading of the offline mail packets.

I bet you could get scripting on the roadmap for magiterm. (no idea what kind of priority Andrew would give it, but I bet he'd be happy to get a feature request)

If you happen to know anywhere that the ANSI display issue is repeatable, that would definitely help me reproduce it. Or is it mor sporadic?

It happens on any ANSI heavy or long ansi screen for me.

OK that's interesting for sure - I think Telix in DOSBox is more stable on my system. Maybe I can find if there's some differences between platforms or if it comes down to the patches I've done here to DOSBox-X. I am interested in digging deeper into this.


Chris/akacastor

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

I bet you could get scripting on the roadmap for magiterm. (no idea
what kind of priority Andrew would give it, but I bet he'd be happy to
get a feature request)

Alternatively you might be able to submit an FR to icyterm.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/02/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: m O N T E R E Y b B S . c O M (911:1719/0)

On Wed Jun 12 14:45:00 2024, akacastor wrote to Tiny <=-

What OS are you running? I spend most of my time in macOS but I do also run DOSBox in Windows and Linux. I'm just curious what you are running so I can maybe try to replicate the setup here.

Windows 10 on the desktop and 11 on this laptop. Also have wsl working, I could try dosbox that way and see how
that works out.

I bet you could get scripting on the roadmap for magiterm. (no idea what kind of priority Andrew would give it, but I bet he'd be happy to get a feature request)

It's not really priority. I'm using his Titalmail right now and it can get / put the packets using ftp.

OK that's interesting for sure - I think Telix in DOSBox is more stable on my system. Maybe I can find if there's some differences between platforms or if it comes down to the patches I've done here to DOSBox-X. I am interested in digging deeper into this.

I'll work on it again when my tooth isn't hurting so much. (Had a infection and tooth was pulled with the infection so the
freezing didn't do much and now I'm just in pain.

Shawn


... I'm not a witch doctor-- I'm only a folk medic.
=== TitanMail/winnt v1.2.4
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

If you happen to know anywhere that the ANSI display issue is repeatable, that would definitely help me reproduce it. Or is it mor sporadic?

It happens on any ANSI heavy or long ansi screen for me.

I recorded a video of calling 20 For Beers BBS using Telix 3.51 in DOSBox-X 2024.03.01 (with my own patches to the softmodem for some telnet issues), I think everything looks OK here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX5mAiHXJiw


If you are interested in the patches I am running on DOSBox-X, you can apply the patch to DOSBox-X 2024.03.01 source code, patch is found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/n0cacqdxxkmxmjueu93cz/akacastor_softmodem_dosbo x-x_2024.03.01.zip?rlkey=rd8z3evuus6gmdp31rlhh8qh0&st=k1mnnrun&dl=1

If you want a compiled version, there is a macOS (arm) version here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/f4r79iq5qjev0iedxa05t/akacastor_dosbox-x_macos_ 20240616.zip?rlkey=3z8mzj8mc98ewjyids04yltx3&st=blfe1kw0&dl=1

I also have things setup to build for Ubuntu 20 64-bit so could provide that. I don't have things setup to build a Windows version right now. (but I should)


Chris/akacastor


Notes on akacastor_softmodem_dosbox-x_2024.03.01.patch ------------------------------------------------------
akacastor, 2024-06-16


You should be able to apply the patch with the command:
`git apply akacastor_softmodem_dosbox-x_2024.03.01.patch`


File src/hardware/serialport/libserial.cpp: -------------------------------------------

For Linux/macOS platforms, removed CMSPAR in termInfo.c_cflag to disable inserting `FF 00` into received data when errors are found. This change was done to remove the need to handle error escaping in received data. There's not much to be done about errors if they occur, and the byte patterns interfere with binary transfers.



File src/hardware/serialport/softmodem.cpp: -------------------------------------------

Telnet IAC escaping is now being done for `FF` bytes sent, to fix issues with binary file transfers. (The previous version of softmodem.cpp was able to receive IAC-escaped `FF` bytes, but did not implement sending.)

--

The handling of telnet protocol IAC responses was changed to avoid
negotiation loops that could previously occur in some cases.

--

Added .conf option `telnetalwaysbinary`, to negotiate binary mode for any telnet connection. If the connected client requests a change back to ASCII mode, it will be rejected and binary mode will be requested.

`telnetbinary:1` or `telnetbinary:0` (default)

--

Added .conf option `callerid`, to enable Caller ID (IP) being passed between the first and second RING. Caller ID data is in USRobotics format.

`callerid:1` or `callerid:0` (default)

--

Added .conf option `fastring`, to adjust the delay between RING when a connection is received. This can be useful to speed up the connection
process when using caller ID, in case it is necessary to wait for a second or third RING.

`fastring:100` for 100 ms interval between RINGs
Default (no fastring) is 3000 ms (3 seconds) between RINGs.

--

Added .conf option `logtelnet`, to enable logging of telnet IAC commands sent and received (useful for debugging telnet protocol issues). The log file
will be created alongside other DOSBox-X capture files, with a filename
ending with `.telnetlog.txt`.

`logtelnet` enables logging all telnet protocol IAC bytes to telnetlog.txt.

--

`AT+NET1` enables telnet mode and `AT+NET0` disables it (raw mode).
`AT+NET?` can be used to check the current setting.

`AT#CID=1` enables caller ID and `AT#CID=0` disables it.
`AT#CID?` can be used to check the current setting.

Some other commands can now have their status checked:
`ATE?` can be used to check echo
`ATV?` can be used to check verbal or numeric responses (flipped in this patch) `ATQ?` can be used to check if responses are enabled (0) or disabled/quiet (1) `AT&K?` can be used to check flow control setting
`AT&D?` can be used to check DTR mode setting


Known limitation:
-----------------

ASCII mode of the telnet protocol is not implemented fully (correctly). When in ASCII mode, a NULL must be sent after CR, except in cases when a CR LF sequence is sent. The receiving end is responsible for removing the NULL bytes. This translation is not done in this version of DOSBox-X or with this patch.

Typically BBSes operated via telnet are accessed in binary mode as many
BBS protocols expect a connection that will pass binary data, and avoiding
the need to insert (and remove) NULLs after CR bytes simplifies things. For example, VModem used by BBSes in OS/2 negotiates binary mode upon connection.

The `telnetbinary:1` option exists to work around the ASCII mode limitation
by forcing the connection to operate in binary mode.

Implementing proper ASCII mode support is complicated by CR LF sequences not having a NULL inserted, while lone CR must have a NULL inserted. Since the serial port is byte-oriented, we don't know if the CR we are sending will be followed by a LF or not.


Usage notes:
------------

When connecting via telnet, the softmodem must be in telnet mode. This can
be done by adding `telnetmode:1` to the serial line in dosbox-x.conf, or by sending `AT+NET1` to the softmodem.

If the softmodem is in raw mode (telnet mode has not been enabled), it will not respond to telnet protocol negotiation and will fail to transmit and receive some data correctly. (In particular, this will affect binary file transfers.)

For BBS software, `telnetbinary:1` can be useful to keep the connection in binary mode. (expected by much DOS software)

Caller ID can be enabled using `callerid:1` in dosbox-x.conf or by sending `AT#CID=1` to the softmodem. Data is in USRobotics format, sent between the first and second RING.

If using caller ID, it can be convenient to use `fastring:100` to avoid the three second delay between rings (changing it to a 100 millisecond delay). This can allow your system to answer callers quicker.

The line I use in dosbox-x.conf is:

`serial1 = modem listenport:2303 telnetmode:1 telnetbinary:1 callerid:1 fastring
:100`

This sets COM1 to be a softmodem, listening on port 2303, telnet mode
enabled, binary mode will always be negotiated, caller ID (IP address) enabled, delay between RINGs lowered to 100 milliseconds.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Quoting Akacastor to Tiny <=-

If you are interested in the patches I am running on DOSBox-X, you can apply the patch to DOSBox-X 2024.03.01 source code, patch is found
here:

Thanks, saved the message and will have a look at it after work.

Shawn

... Is this yours? Your dog left it on my lawn...
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)