
  The  Shelter  Family  is  a  set of powerful and easily configurable
WPL-based  Mailers.  WPL is a language designed for the development of
network communications applications. 

  Each  Shelter  Mailer  has  a subset of the features of the powerful
Roof  Mailer,  which has served as the development testbed for ALL wpl
mailers,  for  certain  XPR's  and  utilities and for the WPL language
itself.  The Roof Mailer itself is not distributed separately as it is
an  intregal part of the HUGE Roof System and requires the ROOFLOG and
FLOWMGR function hosts for proper operation.

  Three  independant  mailers  are  available in the Shelter Family of
Mailers:   Umbrella,  Gazebo and Porticus.  Each can be configured and
compiled with the included GenMailer program.

  If  you  are  looking  for a Point Mailer, and find that Umbrella is
more  than you need, I recommend either one of the Melody Mailers, POP
or  JAZ.   These  Point-Only  mailers  are  the  smallest  and fastest
available.   They  are  available on AmiNet or by FREQ using the magic
names, POP and JAZ from:  fidonet#1:167/104.0 and fidonet#1:167/151.0.


    The Uncommon Features of Shelter Mailers
    ----------------------------------------
  All  Shelter  Mailers feature a Mailer Status Display, scrolling log
and  progress windows as well as an XPR progress window.  In addition,
individual  windows  can display the progress of each poll.  All these
windows,  except  for  the  Display, may be enabled or disabled during
mailer generation.

  All  Shelter  Mailers  feature  SeaLink (inbound), DietIFNA, ZedZap,
ZedZip and DirectZap protocols with crash-resistant RESUME and support
for  both  2d  and  4d outgoing file requests.  XPR protocols are used
thoughout.

  Shelter  mailers provide a high level of security, both when dealing
with other mailers and with human callers.  Unlike other mailers, when
a  Shelter  Mailer  is  properly  configured, if is very unlikely that
files can be stolen, or your HD formatted.

  Multiple  AFTERSESSION  and  WHENRECD  commands allow automatic req,
mail  and  tic  processing.   Unlike any other mailer, Shelter Mailers
provide  separate  commands per file type to be executed either when a
file  of a certain type is received/sent or after the session or BOTH.
The  Cache also allows Site-specific AFTERSESSION commands to override
the   GLOBAL  ones.   Example  aftersession  command  scripts  include
utilties  to  set the filenote of a received file from the description
comment  in  the  sent  REQ  file, or from the short description in an
AmiNet .README file.
  Shelter  Mailers  also  permit  both PREDIAL and PRESESS commands if
one's application requires even more control.


  All  Shelter Mailers are multi-FTN and feature both EMSI and AUTOAKA
WAZOO.   AutoAKA  causes  the  mailer's  primary  address  to  be  set
depending upon the address of the site being called or who is calling.
The  domain  is  automatically set if the remote site does not provide
it.   When  USEAKAS  is  set  for  FTN  site,  all  files for all AKAs
configured  for  the  site will be sent in the same session both under
WAZOO  and  EMSI.   The Shelter EMSI implemenation is the most through
available  on  the  Amiga  and  has  been  proposed  as  the basis for
extensions to the EMSI specification.

  All  Shelter  Mailers  feature  a Site Cache, which allows setting a
remote  site's  session  password,  sitename, sysopname, phone number,
alternate  phone  number.   The remote site may be an FTN node, a UUCP
site,  an Atomic Clock site or a BBS, FTP or Online Service ( in which
case the configured term program will be spawned upon connect).  Other
parameters  specific  to  the  type  of site may also be set.  If your
tosser  is  not  domain-aware  and  the site sends archives containing
bundles  for  multiple  FTNs, the site may be configured so that these
bundles  will be sorted by domain for tossing.  One may also configure
a  particular  site  so  that all mail is sent to configured AKAs of a
site  either  on inbound, outbound or both.  On can also set handshake
(FTS1,WAZOO,EMSI)  to  use  when calling and what addresses to present
under  EMSI  when  dialing  a  site.   The  Cache allows Site-specific
AFTERSESSION commands to override the GLOBAL ones.

  In  addition to the Site Cache, the Gazebo and Porticus Mailers also
support  either  nodelist.library or traplist.library for FTN sessions
and the uucp Passwd and L.sys configs for uucp sessions. 

  The  Shelter  Mailer Manager program allows Cache and Manual dialing
as well as an AUTO feature which allows auto-startup and poll of one's
BOSS  or  echo  hub.  With Manual dialing, one just specifies site and
phone  number  and/or  line  to  use.  Also included is a POLL feature
which will asyncronously poll all sites with pending mail.  POLLs will
continue  until  a  connection  is  made,  with  the number of seconds
between  dial  attempts  and  the duration of a poll window both being
configurable.

  Remote  addresses  can  be  simply specified, with address expansion
being  done  based  upon  your  AKA  in  the domain being called.  For
example,  if  one  wanted  to  call fidonet#1:167/104.0, and one's own
address is fidonet#1:167/151.0, one would simply do:
            Shelter CALL 104

  One  can enable individual windows for each poll in progress to keep
abreast  of  the  current status.  A poll can be aborted via a Shelter
command, or a Ctl-C in the poll's window.  Parameters such as duration
of poll attempt, redial and busy delays are settable on the fly.

  Shelter  mailers  do  not  use  the obsolete and non-secure FLO file
format,  but rather the very secure Xferq.library outbound management.
However,  all  Shelter Mailers do provide functions to convert 4D .FLO
files  to 5D XferQ queues and to add any type of file to a site queue.
In  addition,  a  very  comprehensive set of Queue management tools is
available as XPack170.LHA.
    
  Shelter  Mailers  also  provide for multiple inbound directories for
Tossers which are not domain aware, as well as a NONSECURE inbound for
sites  not  in Site Cache or nodelist.  A separate inbound is provided
for HUMAN callers with Porticus.

  The  Mailer generator uses standard AmigaDos command line templates.
Both  command line switches and internal options provide extra control
in  special  situations.   Due  to the multiple module format, one can
reconfigure  and  reload  parts of the mailer, such as the site cache,
menus or config.

  Porticus  and  Gazebo have been successfully used with the following
BBS's:  DLG, Excelsior, Cnet, TransAmiga, Falcon, Contact!

    Umbrella Point Mailer (MAGIC NAME: UMBRELLA)
    --------------------------------------------
  The  Umbrella  Point  Mailer is a single line, multi-FTN mailer.  It
can  be  setup  to  answer  the  phone,  BBS spawning is not supported
however.   If set to noanswer, the answer code is not generated.  This
mailer does not require a nodelist, as it features both the Site Cache
and  manual  dialing.   It  does  not  support UUCP, CLOCK, FAX or BBS
dialing, nor spawning of file request handlers or BBSs.  It can be set
to  no  do  flo  convert  but  to queue flo files only when connected,
thereby reducing memory usgae.


    Gazebo - The Standard Node Mailer (MAGIC NAME: GAZEBO)
    ------------------------------------------------------
  In  addition  to  the  standard  Shelter FTN features, Gazebo allows
single  BBS  spawning, UUCP inbound and outbound calls and setting the
system clock via calls to any Atomic Clock Site with XPRclock.library.
It  also  features  XfreqSH,  which allows the use of ANY File Request
Handler.


    Porticus - Full Service FrontEnd (MAGIC NAME: PORTICUS)
    ---------------------------------------------------
  Porticus has all the features of the Umbrella and Gazebo Mailers, as
well as all the non-ROOF System dependant features of the ROOF Mailer.
Porticus  uses  the RFS File Request Handler (included) which provides
file  requests, both standard and HRF format update requests, response
handling and accounts for both mailers and human callers.

  In  addition  to  the extensive mailer capabilities described above,
Porticus  has a full-featured remote user interface for Human callers.
This interface provides:

            System Bulletins
            Multiple level Menus
            Multiple BBSs and/or Remote Shell selections
            Remote on-line help
            Text Information displays
            Doors including games and utilities
            Auto-Download of Magic Names
            Auto-Uploads with file description prompt
            Chat with sysop
            Messages to/from sysop
            File Requests with CallBack Verification (with reward)
            Automatic FileRequests
            Forwarded File requests (to/from OTHER systems)
            Passworded Remote CLI
            Amiga Empire Game support
            User Accounts
            Boot a human caller

    All these utilities are included in the PORTICUS distribution.


    XPACK  Outbound Management (MAGIC NAME: XPACK)
    ----------------------------------------------

        A  collection  of  useful tools for XfreQ management by Robert
    Williamson.

    Xpack       -   5D echomail archiver/router/queuer/scheduler    *
    XList       -   lists queue for a site, a pattern or all sites  *
    Xkill       -   remove a filepattern from a sitepattern         *
    Xrmv        -   remove a file from a site queue
    AddWork     -   add a file to a site queue, aware of filetypes
    SendFile    -   a simple version of AddWork
    Xq          -   FLO convert, scan outs, Xpack front-end
    Xflo        -   online flo conversion

    Please note that tools marked with a * require RexxDosSupport.library.


    Distribution:
        Both  full  release  archives  and  diff  updates archives are
posted  on  AmiNet  at  regular intervals.  Full release archives have
file  names  in  the format <mailer><version>.lha, while diff archives
are  <mailer><YYMMDD>.lha.   Due  to  filename  contrictions on AmiNet
these  are  the  filenames  to  expect in Shelter Mailers and releated
utilities:

    AmiNet              FTN/HUMAN   AmiNet              FTN/HUMAN
    release             magic       diff updates        magic
    ---------------     --------    -----------------   -------
    porticus170.lha     PORTICUS    porticuYYMMDD.lha   POR_UPD
    gazebo170.lha       GAZEBO      gazeboYYMMDD.lha    GAZ_UPD
    umbrella170.lha     UMBRELLA    umbrellYYMMDD.lha   UMB_UPD
    xpack170.lha        XPACK       xpackYYMMDD.lha     XPA_UPD
    rfs170.lha          RFS         rfsYYMMDD.lha       RFS_UPD

    Any of the above can be FREQed using the Magic names from:

        14400bps:
            fidonet#1:167/104.0
            amiganet#40:600/104.0
            mtlnet#17:514/300.0

    Full releases are also available from:
        Zyxel:
            fidonet#1:167/151.0
            amiganet#40:600/151.0
        14400bps:
            fidonet#1:167/207.0

    Distribution  of  merged or modified archives via the SAN fileecho
network is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.

