This text file, will contain questions like those I have received in Email or a public conference about JamMail. Primarily, these questions are going to related directly to JamMail or JamScan. If you have suggestions of how to integrate some of this into the manual let me know. Q) How do I contact you? A) The following Network addresses are all valid: FidoNet#1:163/139, AmigaNet#40:553/139 jam@jammys.net ab207@freenet.carleton.ca Snail: James McOrmond 264 2nd Avenue. Ottawa, On K1S 2H9 Canada Voice: 613-230-8720 ZyXEL: 613-230-2172 VFC: 613-230-1136 Q) How to I start a JamMail Mailer? A) Execute the S:Setup script. Since JamMail sets the execute bit, you only need to type "setup" from any CLI where the s: directory is in your search path. Q) How do I shutdown JamMail? A) Various different ways. 1) press Ctrl-C in the scheduler window. If configured, it will close the rest of the system down. 2) If configured (in the scheduler menu), pressing Ctrl-C in a modem window will close the scheduler down, and then the scheduler will close everything else down (if configured). 3) Send an Abort message to the scheduler: rx "Address JAMMAIL Abort" 4) If the scheduler is not configured to abort all other lines, abort messages will need to be sent to each active line as well as the scheduler. 5) execute the s:killjm script. It will always shut things down. ************************************************* NB: All abort commands will wait untill the current session (if there is one) is finished. Pressing Ctrl-D in a modem/scheduler window typically will timeout any waiting/delay that is being done by that window. ************************************************* Q) How do I shutdown a single JamMail line/modem? A) if you are really sure you want to do this: rx "Address JAMMAIL1 Abort" Aborts line 1 rx "Address JAMMAIL2 Abort" Aborts line 2, etc... Q) After shutting down a single line, how can I get it to operate again? A) assuming the line was shut down as explained in the previous question: launch JAMMAIL1 jammail!startup-1 1 25000 would launch line 1 launch JAMMAIL2 jammail!startup-2 1 25000 would launch line 2, etc... Q) How about starting/stopping the scheduler? A) JamMail currently is not designed to operate without a scheduler. Previously there was an option to operate without the scheduler but it has been removed. In future versions, there will be two different schedulers built in. The first one will be an expanded version of the current scheduler. The second one, will be a very simple one that a "point" type system would use to poll only their boss, and they'd likely close down after a good session. Q) Can I setup xxxxx File server designed for TrapDoor? A) Yes. All file request servers designed for TD (or any other mailer, as long as its external) should be launchable from JamMail. The File "InboundNotify.Man" explains this fully Q) Whats the difference between Asynchronously launching, and synchronously launching? A) Synchronously launching means that the mailer will wait until the Freq server has found *ALL* of the files in the .REQ file. If this takes a long time, the other system may hang up. Asynchronously means that as soon as the first file is found, the transfer will start. Q) Can I setup xxx File server designed for a WPL/Xferq.library based system? A) Of course! Put its execution line in the InboundNotify command line configured in menu I. If there are strange variables in the string, contact me, and i'll let you know if things are okey. Check the file InboundNotify.doc for more help. Q) I call a system and receive files all the time, but JamMail never sends any mail my system exports. A) Possible problems: 1) JamScan is not configured correctly, or not configured at all. JamScan takes the .FLO files tossers typically create for TrapDoor and converts them into a form that JamMail uses. JamScan can also be setup to take the .?UT files from your tosser, and to compress them before sending them out. 2) There isn't a match between the address the other system is using and the address JamScan has the mail waiting for. *ALL* addresses in Jammail are typically 5d, which is in either the form "FidoNet#1:163/139.0" or "1:163/139.0@FidoNet". I much prefer the first format (since the most relevent is on the left) but both are common. DOMAINS are required with JamMail. If the other system is not configured with domains (or is impossible as with the current TrapDoor versions) a domain of FidoNet should be used for that systems mail in JamScan. Q) When should JamScan be run? A) Right after any export or file processing that your system may do. Q) Whats a basic JamScan.cfg look like? A) HOST 1:163/139 HOLD -50 DIRECT 30 CRASH 50 BUNDLES outbound: PACKETS out: PKTS out:packets/ route (1|2|3|4|5|6).#?.#?.#?.?LO FidoNet#*:*/*.* norm This routes all .FLO control files (as setup for TD) to their FidoNet equivalent. If your system is in multiple networks, you'll need additional routing lines for those domains, like: route (16|17|18|19).#?.#?.#?.?LO ZyXELNET#*:*/*.* norm This assumes that all mail for Zones 16, 17, 18 and 19, in my outbound directory is a ZyXELNET system. On my system, that is true, but if you belong to two networks in the same zone, a little more will need to be done. Something like this may help a bit: route 18.163.#?.#?.?LO ZyXELNET#*:*/*.* norm route 18.553.#?.#?.?LO ScoobyNET#*:*/*.* norm Q) What about using JamScan without .FLO files in the outbound directory? (Ie, uncompressed .OUT, CUT, DUT, HUT files). A) This is the preferred method of using JamScan. Route statements would be setup very much similarly as above, but with the extension changed and the compression format added at the end. route 18.163.#?.#?.?UT ZyXELNET#*:*/*.* norm zip route 18.553.#?.#?.?UT ScoobyNET#*:*/*.* norm lha See the JamScan.Doc file for more explanation of each field if necessary. Q) How about .REQ files? A) Currently, JamMail will not dial automatically based on a .REQ file being in the outbound directory. If you manually tell JamMail to call a system, and there is a request file waiting for it (in either Zone.Net.Node.Point.REQ format, or the Hex 2d name format (00a300a9.REQ)), it will be sent. Q) Why does JamMail take so long to open/close windows when the "Abort on Line Ctrl-C" option is turned on in the scheduler menu? A) Due to the way the Ctrl-C is checked for, this is a result. If you don't want that delay, simply turn of the Ctrl-C checking in those windows, and press Ctrl-C in the scheduler window to close down. Q) Why does JamMail not open on a Public Screen when configured to do so? A) Currently, JamMail does not open its own public screen itself. It will however open on a window created by another program like Screenmanager (which is what i use). A future version of JamMail will open its own screen as part of the new scheduler. Q) When I start JamMail, the modem window flashes, and I get some sort of death message in the logs. A) This means JamMail was not able to open the modem. Most likely you have either JamMail, or a program already using the serial port, not set to use SHARED mode. Set all programs (JamMail, BBS's, etc...) to use shared mode on all lines/modems. Q) Why do most of my BOSS's addresses show up as Unknown during EMSI sessions? A) JamTool only looks at the phonebook, and the cache files to find AKA's during handshakes. Any systems/addresses you have passwords for should be listed in your phonebook. Q) When I first startup JamMail, sometimes I get some junk characters, and some MSetBaud -1 error messages. A) A typical cause for the MSetBaud -1 error, is that JamMail is unable to open and close the serial port to make sure all of the baud rate settings are correct. Make sure JamMail is started up on your system before other programs that use the serial device. Q) How do I get jammail to dial systems automatically that may not have mail waiting for them? A) The POLL program will do this. Essentially, what it does, is create some fake outbound mail for the system, and adds it to the queue for the system given. It adds the file with either the priority in your ENV:MINPRI variable, or the value given on the command line. Q) I'm running CNet BBS, and I always get msetbaud errors in the jammail windows. A) Make sure that line in Cnet is set offline, and the configs are saved. JamMail will wake it up when a user logs in. Q) Why can't I put a / in my init string. A) Well, thats actually a complicated question. In the 'C' programming language, the '/' character is used as an escape, this is also true of the WPL language. The problem is, that there are multiple levels where the '/' is being escaped. To actually SEE a '/' character in your init string, you need *4* of them. This is because the '/' character is being escaped by 3 different levels before its sent to your modem.