From decwrl!wyse!mips!apple!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekred!saab!billr Thu May 24 09:38:47 PDT 1990 Article 920 of comp.sources.games: Path: decwrl!wyse!mips!apple!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekred!saab!billr From: billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM (Bill Randle) Newsgroups: comp.sources.games Subject: v10INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.games Message-ID: <5661@tekred.CNA.TEK.COM> Date: 23 May 90 18:52:55 GMT Sender: news@tekred.CNA.TEK.COM Lines: 538 Approved: billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM Submitted-by: Bill Randle Posting-number: Volume 10, Info 1 Archive-name: intro10 [Thanks to Dan Heller, from whom I stole this format which he uses in comp.sources.x and to from whom he got it. -br] This is the first of five introductory messages about comp.sources.games. There are *many* things covered in this posting -- each new topic is preceded by a Subject: line. If you get bored reading a particular section, fast forward to the next Subject: line and read that one. Please don't submit sources without having read -everything- in this file (you'll be tested and graded later :-). Most of all, this posting describes how to submit sources to comp.sources.games, where the archive sites are, and how to contact them. The second and third postings list the sources that have been published in this newsgroup (one by volume/issue number, the other alphabetically by name). The fourth posting is a cross index of patches that have been posted in c.s.g. The fifth and final info posting is an index of games in the archive on 'saab' (my "main machine"). I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve the usefulness of the newsgroup. Please do not hesitate to send suggestions to billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM. -------------------- Subject: The structure of comp.sources.games articles Each posting in comp.sources.games is called an "issue"; there are roughly 100 issues to a volume. The division is arbitrary, and has varied in the past. There are two types of articles in comp.sources.games; sources and "information postings." They can be distinguished by the subject line: Subject: v03INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.games This first word in the title identifies this as the first info posting of volume three. Similarly, the subject line shown below: Subject: v01i060: war - intergalactic simulation, Part01/40 identifies this as the 60th source article in Volume 1. All sources are broken up into pieces. This is done so that there could be a proper storage directory when patches are issued. This is part 1 of a 40 part posting. The first few lines of an article are auxiliary headers that look like this: Submitted-by: root@freeware.ATT.COM Posting-number: Volume 7, Issue 82 Archive-name: monopoly/Part01 The "Submitted-by" is the author of the program. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SOURCES PUBLISHED IN COMP.SOURCES.GAMES, THIS IS THE PERSON TO CONTACT. When possible, this address is in domain form, otherwise it is a UUCP bang path relative to some major site such as "uunet." The second line repeats the volume/issue information for the aide of NOTES sites and automatic archiving programs. The Archive-name is the "official" name of this source in the archive. Large postings will have names that look like this: Archive-name: zork/Part01 Please try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed to you. Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the archive name given in the auxiliary header need not be identical. ----------------- Subject: Patches Handling Patches will be handled as swiftly as possible. Authors of sources posted to c.s.g should send all patches to me so that I can post them back through the newsgroup in order that the patches can be archived. This has not been done in the past in other sources groups and has lead to lost patches. If the patches must get out *real* fast, post them to comp.source.bugs and send me a copy at the same time so that they will be available when they are needed in the future. To support the tracking of patches, the Patch-To: line is used in c.s.g. The Patch-To: line exists for articles that are patches to previously posted software. The Patch-To: line only appears in articles that are posted, "Official", patches. The initial postings would not contain the Patch-To: auxiliary header line. Patch-To: syntax Patch-To: package-name: Volume X, Issue x[-y,z] Patch-To: examples. These are examples and do not reflect the accurate volume/issue numbering for rkive. In the first example, the article that contains the following line is a patch to a single part posting. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122 This example shows that the 122-124 indicates the patch applies to a multi-part posting. The '-' is used to mean "article A through article B, inclusive.. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122-124 If a patch applies to multiple part postings that are not consecutive, the ',' is used to separate the part issue numbers. It is possible to mix both ',' and '-' on a single Patch-To: line. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125,126,127 Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125-127 If a new release is posted instead of a large set of patches, then the posting will ontain a Supercedes: header line with a format similar to the Patch-To: header. Supercedes: syntax Supercedes: package-name: Volume X, Issue x[-y,z] Supercedes: examples Supercedes: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122-124 Supercedes: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122-125,127 -------------------- Subject: Reporting and tracking bugs. You should subscribe to comp.sources.games.bugs. Sometimes, when new versions of previously-published software is available, just patches are put out, usually in the form of shar files containing input for the "patch" program, new files, etc. Sometimes complete new versions are put out. Which method is used depends on the poster and the moderator. Minor updates must be in patch form and update the patchlevel.h file. Major updates should be the guidelines for postings. To report bugs, contact the person listed in the Submitted-by header. Often there is a contact address in a README file, too. I do not maintain the sources I moderate, so don't send your bug reports to me. Likewise, I normally do not post patches for a package from anyone except the author. If you have patches you would like to see included in the package, send them to the person listed in the Submitted-by header. If the original author is incommunicado I will consider posting patches submitted by other people. -------------------- Subject: Submitting source for publication Items intended for posting or queries and problem notes should be sent to games@saab.CNA.TEK.COM If you want verification of arrival, say so in a cover note, or at the beginning of your submission, if it is small. I try to verify that a program works, and if I can't get it to work, I may hold up posting it for a couple of days. Please note that, except in rare cases, source that doesn't meet the guidelines will not be published. The backlog from receipt to posting varies from one to three weeks depending mostly on the set of submissions currently in my queue and my current work load. ------------------- Subject: Guidelines To make life easier for both myself and the users of the comp.sources.games newsgroup, I request that all submissions follow the following guidelines. Initial Submissions: 1. Source filenames need to be 12 or fewer characters in length. 2. Source files need to be less than 50K bytes in size. 3. A Makefile is highly desirable. 4. A manual page is desirable. 5. A README file is required. This should contain a brief description of what the posting is and any special considerations in building it. The README should also contain a list of authors and the distribution and copying policy. Updates, patches, etc.: It is up to the author to determine if there have been major enough changes to warrant a complete reposting. This may be necessary if the size of the patches exceeds the size of the source, but in most cases only patches are posted. Total repostings should be treated as an initial posting. What follows pertains to patches... 1. When patches are submitted, they should be in context diff format. 2. A patch to patchlevel.h should be done to reflect that the patch has been applied. 3. Include information about which previously posted issues the patch pertains to if they were initially posted to c.s.g. For more information on patch see patch.man in util/patch/patch.man in the X11 Release 4 distribution or in volume7 of the comp.sources.unix archives. Patches can be made with diff -c on 4.XBSD based machines and with diffc on others. Diffc can be found in volume 1 of comp.sources.unix archives. GNU diff can also be used to create context diffs. ------------------------ Subject: Becoming an archive site If you collect comp.sources.games postings and are willing and able to make your collection available to other people, please let me know. Benefits include the undying gratitude of your colleagues, and a promise from me to try to make sure you never lose an article. -------------------- Subject: Accessing the archives The complete archives are fairly large; an average volume is three to four megabytes. There are several active archive sites around the net, but more are always welcome - especially outside the US. Some sites below will send tapes through the mail. For those sites, send a 1/2" mag tape WITH RETURN POSTAGE and RETURN MAILER. Tapes without postage or mailer will not be returned. No other methods (COD, etc.) are available; please don't ask. Other sites may make 1/4" mag tapes or floppy disks. It doesn't hurt to ask. -------------------- Subject: Listing of archive sites in no particular order Here is what each field means: Site: The name of the site nice enough to act as an archive site. Contact: The name of the person to contact and their mail address Location: The general area of the world the site is located in. Modems: For providing UUCP access, what types of modems are available. UUCP: Type of UUCP access is available. FTP: Type of FTP access is available. Mail Server: Account address of the automated mail server if available. Additional: Additional information pertaining to accessing the archive. ************************ U S A - EASTERN ************************ Site: acf3.nyu.edu Contact: Gary Rosenblum (rosenblg@cmcl2.nyu.edu) Location: NY Modems: N/A UUCP: None FTP: Anonymous Mail server: None Additional: Has 800/1600 bpi tape drive and can support tapes for 4.2, 4.3, System V, etc. Site: madhat Contact: Phil Harbison (alvitar@madhat.uucp) Location: Huntsville, AL Modems: N/A UUCP: Anonymous FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Will also make 96tpi 5.25" floppy disks using cpio or tar. Phone: 205-881-4317, 205-461-2957. Site: mgse Contact: Archive Administrator (archivea%mgse@rex.cs.tulane.edu) Location: Metairie, LA Modems: N/A UUCP: None FTP: None Mail server: archive%mgse@rex.cs.tulane.edu Additional: To get the archive help file, and an index and Unix ls -lR style file listing, send the following mail to archive@mgse: help send comp/sources/games/index send comp/sources/games/list You will get back 80K of text files. The archive server offers several types of data compression and ascii file encoding. The information is in the help file about the different options available. If you are having problems with the archive server, send mail to archivea@mgse, the archive administrator. Site: uunet.uu.net Contact: Rick Adams (postmaster@uunet.uu.net) Location: Fairfax, VA Modems: Telebit UUCP: uunet uucp customers only FTP: Anonymous Mail server: netlib@uunet Additional: Files are stored by volume number and game name: comp.sources.games/volumeN. Newly posted articles may be in the directory comp.sources.games/new. Check there if it's not in the proper volume. ************************ U S A - CENTRAL ************************ Site: attctc Contact: Steven Parker (sp@attctc.dallas.tx.us) Location: Dallas, TX Modems: N/A UUCP: Anonymous FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Phone: 214-741-2130, also accesable via PC Pursuit. A sample L.sys line follows: attctc Any ACU 2400 1-214-741-2130 in:--in: uupdsrc word: Public Modify as necessary to fit local circumstances, of course. To get more information, request file attctc!/bbsys4/README. Site: mcf Contact: Sharan Kalwani (shan@mcf.uucp, shan%mcf.uucp@mailgw.cc.umich.edu) Location: Michigan Modems: 1200/2400, Telebit UUCP: On Request FTP: None Mail server: archives@mcf Additional: Sharan Kalwani at the Michigan Cancer Foundation (shan@mcf.uucp) has set up a mail-based server. The archive resides on mcf's machine. Comp.sources.games, comp.sources.unix and other stuff are available. Mail to "archives@mcf.uucp" and supply the text send index from comp.sources.games for some help on how to access the files and an index of the files currently online. For human help, mail to shan@mcf.uucp. ************************ U S A - WESTERN ************************ Site: aeras Contact: Jason Winters (jason@aeras), 408-432-1200, ext, 365 Location: San Jose, CA Modems: 1200, 2400, Telebit UUCP: Anonymous FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: SnailMail tapes (Under duress) Systems/L.sys information: aeras Any 1200 4089439152 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee aeras Any 19200 4089439246 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee aeras Any 2400 4089439396 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee Suggested places to get additional information: /u3/archive/sources/LISTING LISTING contains the names of all the programs stored in the archives, and the sizes. Note: all archives have probably been stored in compressed form, with 12 bit compression (for machines that can't handle 16 bit). All multiple file programs have been stored in seperate directories, then compressed. More information about the files stored in a particular volume are kept in files called LOGFILE. Such as: /u3/archive/sources/games/vol1/LOGFILE would be the one to get to examine the exact contents of volume 1 of the games section. Additional information from files: sample command to recover files: uucp aeras!/u3/archive/sources/games/vol1/LOGFILE /tmp/. Special note: wild cards have been proven to not be reliable, so to assure success they are not recommened tools. Site: hoptoad Contact: John Gilmore Location: , CA Modems: N/A UUCP: None FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Will email to local sites. To get copies of archived stuff, mail to: games-archive@toad.com. (Don't ask me for things if you have to mail through uunet to get to hoptoad -- why send it through an extra hop?) Site: otto Contact: Rex Jolliff (rex@otto.UUCP), 702-454-4636 Location: Henderson, NV Modems: N/A UUCP: None FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Can make 1600/6250 bpi tar/cpio tapes, 1/4" cartrige tapes (either format) and VMS (1600/6250 bpi) BACKUP format tapes (in a pinch, if you grovel...). Contact for details. Site: pyramid Contact: Claudia Dimmers/Carl Gutekunst (usenet@pyramid) Location: Mountain View, CA Modems: N/A UUCP: On Request FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Somewhat willing to make tapes for people to come by and pick up, provided you call WELL in advance and bring lunch money. Site: saab Contact: Bill Randle (billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM), 503-923-4422 Location: Redmond, OR Modems: Courier HST UUCP: Anonymous FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Can make 1600/6250 bpi tar tapes, 1/4" cartrige tapes, 3 1/2" and 5 1/4" floppys. A sample L.sys file for anon uucp: saab Any ACU 2400 5039234494 in:-\r-in: ugames ssword: letmein An index can be retrieved by (example): uucp saab!/usr1/ftp/games-archive/Index /usr/spool/uucppublic/Index The Index file also contains further uucp instructions. Will email selected missing parts for desperate people. Site: sandia Contact: Mike Arms (marms@sandia) Location: New Mexico Modems: N/A UUCP None FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Will email to other NM sites. ************************ Unknown US ************************ Site: schizo.samsung.com Contact: N/A Location: N/A Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: Anonymous Mail server: N/A Additional: Files save by volume number: usenet-archives/comp.sources.games/volumeN. Only volume2 and volume9 are present. Site: wuarchive.wustl.edu Contact: archives@wugate.wustl.edu Location: N/A Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: Anonymous Mail server: N/A Additional: Files saved by volume number: usenet/comp.sources.games/volumeN. Archive access also available via NFS. Contact archives@wugate.wustl.edu for more info. Site: xanth.cs.odu.edu Contact: N/A Location: N/A Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: Anonymous Mail server: N/A Additional: Files save by volume number: usenet/comp.sources.games/volumeN. ************************ Austrailia ************************ Site: munnari Contact: Robert Elz (kre@munnari.OZ) Location: Australia Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: N/A Mail server: N/A Additional: Access for Australian sites only. Contact Robert for more info. ************************ Belgium ************************ Site: blekul11 Contact: Philippe Bekaert (SAAAA02@BLEKUL11.BITNET) Location: Belgium Modems: N/A UUCP: None FTP: None Mail server: LISTSERV@BLEKUL11.BITNET Additional: All files are compressed. Example archive retrieval commands: For VM/CMS: TELL LISTSERV AT BLEKUL11 INDEX U-GAMES TELL LISTSERV AT BLEKUL11 GET U-GAMES ARCHIVES TELL LISTSERV AT BLEKUL11 HELP For VMS: SEND LISTSERV AT BLEKUL11 INDEX U-GAMES For other, send an email message containing one or more commands, e.g.: HELP INFO INFO GENINTRO INDEX INDEX U-GAMES GET U-GAMES INDEX GET POSTERS PART01 F=UUENCODE For additional information on the BLEKUL11 archive, send email to the moderator (billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM) for an info file. ************************ France ************************ Site: irisa.irisa.fr Contact: N/A Location: France Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: Anonymous Mail server: N/A Additional: Files stored by volume number: News/comp.sources.games/volumeN. Missing volume1, volume5 and volume6. ************************ Sweden ************************ Site: sunic.sunet.se Contact: N/A Location: Sweden Modems: N/A UUCP: N/A FTP: Anonymous Mail server: N/A Additional: Files stored by volume number: comp/sources/games/volumeN. --------------------------------------- Subject: Editorial comments I generally accept any game (or entertaining diversion) software without regard to host architecture or operating system. There are some exceptions, as there are specific newsgroups for many architectures. Thus if your game is IBM PC specific or Mac or Atari only, it is generally better to post it in the comp.sources. newsgroup. The other exception is games that are specific to the X-Windows windowing system. They should be generally posted to the comp.sources.x newsgroup. If the moderator will not accept it for posting there, send it to me. Games that utilize more than one display system, e.g. X11 and SunView should be sent to me. Although there is a comp.sources.sun newsgroup, SunView based games have historically been posted in the comp.sources.games newsgroup. "Top 6 pet peeves of the comp.sources.games moderator." 1. Programs that don't compile right the first time. 2. Programs that don't execute right the first time. 3. Patches that don't apply correctly. 4. Individual source files larger than ~50K bytes. 5. Submissions that do not contain a README or Makefile file. 6. Submissions that do not contain a man page.