
--64--

>I am prepared to change the MCI character to something which will allow
>advancement in MCI.  Left as it is, MCI is held back from its full potential.
>Ken

Ken, before you get started, what are a few of the "advancements" you
are planning.

And, what is '\' currently "holding back" on doing?

Just how far do you want to revamp MCI?
1)  Remove the letter choices from /V#, making them all #s.
    (0-9999 gives more breathing room than 0-9 a-z)
2)  Gather up into 1 list all the 'getuser' vars, /V vars, /T vars
    and make them share the same #s 0-999.
    (No need to remember that 'getuser' 6 gets the address, but
    it's MCI V9.  'getuser' 22 is MCI V8.  'getuser' 17 is MCI T6.
    A single master list is all that would ever be needed.
3)  Actually MCI T# could be reserved just for G0-4 only.
    You could do variable-testing on ANY/ALL /V #s.
    {V8} gets the # of calls.
    {if} {V8} {>20} {do/print this} {else} {do/print this}

    Check areacodes and only display local log-in notices
    (parties, meetings, conventions, swap-meets) to local callers.
    {if} {V9} {=313} {do/print this} {else} {do/print this}
    (Ever call California and HAVE TO read long log-in notices about
    a swap-meets there?  Like I'm really go to need that info.)

The current method is powerful but isn't exactly
crystal clear...

> This starts pFiles:Test/Ask....
>
> Get a key:                 \G0
> Test for [Y]es:            \T0Y\
> Go to label #1 if failed:  \D1
> Go to label #2 if success: \E2
>
> Failed label:  \M1
>    Print Failed
> Then exit:     \X1

>
> Success label: \M2
>    Print Success
> Then Exit:     \X1
>
> This ends pFiles:Test/Ask.
And worse when you can't comment things (like I've done here).
And even worse when formatting requires you place all that
on 1-2 lines (unlike the way I've spaced it out here).

Here's what it really looks like:
> This starts pFiles:Test/Ask....
> Get a key: \G0\T0Y\\D1\E2\M1Print Failed\X1\M2Print Success\X1
> This ends pFiles:Test/Ask.

Now add a few dozen color codes, on/off, line feeds...
> \n1\c1Get a key:\c0 \G0\T0Y\\D1\E2\M1\c1P\c0rint \c0F\c1ailed\X1\M2\c0P\c1rint \c0S\c1uccess\X1\n2
You get the picture.

Don't forget a comment MCI code, too.
{.. Skip all this stuff ..}
{. Marks the start
}  Marks the end.

--65--

Networking (Fido and especially Usenet) would be 1000x more popular
w/C-net if it included some kind of front door.
 
Last time I had to work with a handful of 3rd party shareware prgs
in order to get networking running, I gave up.
 
When I started hearing horror stories like...
Go down to the main post office downtown and find a place to park and
wait in a long line to get an international money order to send
$35 to some guy that works out of his house in Austria.  Wait
6-8 weeks.  Etc, etc...

It's like buying Imagine (or some other top-notch 3D prg) and then finding
out thta you can't do several EXTREMELY important things until you
send this $35 to some guy that's not even associated with Impulse, Inc.
Wouldn't you say to yourself, "What the heck is this???"

 
(To this day I still am finding long-time Fidonet/Usenet SysOps that
don't even know C-net can do Fidonet/Usenet.)
 
Even if C-net just came with a minimal "answer the phone, accept mail
packets" prg.  (No points, file requests, and all the other goodies.)
Everyone would be more inclined to Network.

--66--

Can the max length of arguments passed to DOS pfiles be extended?
It's not unusual to have to specify a keyword or 2, an option or
2 and a handful of quoted %values.

> Text, Arexx, DOS, or CNet file? DOS
> Additional DOS arguments      : 1234567890123456789
>                                 FULL "%3" "%6" "%4"
Max of 19 chars doesn't allow you to do too much.
The ability to use non-Cnet doors (and there's a ton of them) and
DOS cmds (2 tons of them) correctly, hangs on:
1)  What you can/can't pass to them.
2)  Max length of args.
40-60 chars would be a better limit.

If you can't pass a certain parameter or are 1 char short of
a max char limit, the entire door can never to used w/C-net.

--67--

I'm using the arexx 'getuser' cmd to successfully get info from
MainPort and PortData.  (ie. XT#####)  Works fine.

How are all the UserData variables accessed too?
(Mentioned on p.77 of the spiral-bound manual.)

Is an 3rd "X" value needed?
1==PortData
2==MainPort
3==UserData

--68--

Could a string be written to "log.calls" even if the system can't/doesn't
connect.  I certainly WOULD want to know if 100s of calls aren't getting
through.
> Mon 27-Jul-1992  7:28p  ANSWERED: port 2
>                  7:28p  NO CONNECT
> .
> Mon 27-Jul-1992  7:31p  ANSWERED: port 2
>                  7:31p  NO CONNECT
> .
> Mon 27-Jul-1992  7:33p  ANSWERED: port 2
>                  7:33p  NO CONNECT
> .

--69--

Should log.calls be showing all local/sysop log-ins as "caller -1"?
>SIGNON account 1, caller -1

--70--

It's great that SHELL usage can be restricted in so many ways.
1) "Shell `23" in BBSmenu
2) "ID" first
3) Not 1, but 2 passwords

Anyway for me to set things up just to do #1?  (That's plenty.)
Or at worst, get to SHELL with:
#1, if local
#2, if remote

Am I correct in assuming that I need to type BOTH passwords EVERY time
I need to get to the shell?  And worse yet, whether local or remote?

Even running "ID", entering both passwords, and I still need to
re-enter them BOTH EACH time I go into SHELL.  (And I like long passwords.)

I was hoping to quickly jump in/out of a powerful online shell at will.
(At least when in local.  Maybe for security, a little "hampering",
when in remote.)

--71--

"ID"'s 1st execution gets "System maintenance enabled!"
"ID"'s 2nd execution gets "System maintenance enabled!"
Isn't the 2nd run suppose to disable it?  (p.37)

--72--

It would require that the control panel display be updated every min,
but showing "mins-remaining" would be more informative than "login-time".

Any plans on making the line-info displayed by the control panel, into
a configurable line in BBStext w/MCI?  (A "SysOp-Comment" and "Where-
At" MCI codes would have to be added.  As well as my earlier mentioned
MCI C-style printf() formatting.)
>/V3 /V6 /V9 ...

Or better yet, maybe have whatever the output of "cnet:ctrlPanel.rexx"
is, used to display each line.
>  'getuser' <tons of info>
>  <tons of arexx formatting>
>  say <this line is re-used for each line displayed by the control panel>

We could have it display anything we'd want.  Handles, names, call counts,
file UL/DL counts or bytes, subboard name/number, etc.  My choice would be
something similar to the default.

Bill Beogelein, Level 23, 14 mins left, 9600, My Comment, At Main Menu
(I definitely prefer "mins-remaining" to "login-time".  Here and in "WHO" also.)

If a different font could be specified for the control panel we could
even squeeze in 100-120 char displays per line.  BBSconfig:
>cnet21.font <-- Font to use for port screens
>3x5.font    <-- Font to use for control panel
>**    <-- Path to LOCAL MODE EDITOR--use ** for the CNet editors.
>2     <-- Highest UDBASEx: partition in use

--73--

Any plans on allowing comments in cnet:BBStext, BBSconfig, BBSmenu, BBS*, etc?
Perhaps any line that started with a ";" char.

Some of these files can get pretty complex.  I'd love to stick little reminders,
and comments in them.

--74--

Is there a way to have "Scan Selected" display the same, good,
full info as "Scan"?
>1. CALL2.LHA                 90928
>2. UNI_1.1.LHA               43947
>3. WH1_4.LHA                 38902
Is there a reason that date, DL count, and description can't be viewed?
That's good info needed for answering the "Enter the # of the item to
de-select" question.  (It's even worse when the filename's themselves
are cryptic.)

--75--

I couldn't figure out why I kept YANKing stuff but couldn't get
anything.

Can YANK be made to report success/failures?
"Your home dir is full (xK is max)."
"You have too many selected files.  (x is max)."
"Too many other user's are YANKing right now."
"Tmp disk space is full."

I assume it was 1 of the above.  (Still don't know which.)  As soon as
I deleted all my selected files (ugh) I could YANK again.

And the 'success' OLM could also be helpful...
"Successfully YANKed 392 msgs @ 150K."

--76--

An option that would make C-net screens open as PUBLIC.
Great for placing the control panel, CLI windows, etc, over them.
No need to keep flipping back to a WB screen.

--77--

Please consider adding a news or gfile to your BBS that C-net SysOps
could check at any time.  It would display a copy of your current C-
net ReadME history file.

(Sure wish is was arranged "newest 1st" instead of "oldest first"
so we wouldn't have to read through all the old stuff each time.)

--78--

>Does your terminal support ANSI [Yes]?  No
Hitting RETURN got me a NO as the default.  (I think this is just a
typo in Ken's v2.20c BBStext file.)

--79--

> But I agree that CNet needs a child task to perform bbsevents.        
It needs something like bbsevents.-1 or bbsevents.24                   
which runs regardless on which nodes are on/off line at any given time.
(Just the control panel need be running.)                              
                                                                       
What a waste of a high-powered scheduler like C-net's, without it.     
(I'm having to keep a full, dummy node #23 online AT ALL TIMES just    
to do this now.)

-Bill Allen Beogelein, Amiga ShareWare HQ, 313-473-2020, 1:120/207
