PE>> 2. Are you receiving UUCP mail from other users, especially
PE>> Jeff Green (since he's gating messages from here). 

BL> I got a whole lot of stuff with Jeff in the origin line. Was this his, 
BL> or yours?

His.

PE>> 3. Have you successfully sent UUCP mail yourself?

BL> No. I sent an plain text message named tml.txt saying "get stuffed, 
BL> Paul". Did you get it?

Nope.  I'll check to see if it is located in my "spool" or
"bad" directory or something.

BL> I have no idea what format the UUCP upload files are in. Apparently,
BL> in needs three types of file. 

I don't think you should be doing this at this stage, even I'm not doing
that, you should be getting some software to do it all for you, and then
write your own replacements later (where you can hopefully have some idea
what the specs are - because basically I don't either).  

PE>> But I don't want to rudely chop anyone off. So I want to know:

PE>> 1. Who needs help to get their UUCP software set up?

BL> Me. 

Ok, your messages sounded like you had it all sussed out, but I'll hang fire on that.

BL> I don't want to set up a full BBS with Binkley, a message base
BL> and Watergate, 

Watergate is a gating program.  You don't want to be a gate!  You don't
want Binkley.  To do news properly you may need what you are calling a
messagebase, but I'm telling you, if you delete the "messagebase"
before each connection, you aren't any worse off.

BL> but I'm stalled trying to work out what UUCP actually requires.

Yeah.

BL> I've been reading the manuals for WaterGate and FXUUCICO and I
BL> have discovered that the mysterious D and X-files are munged Unix
BL> filenames, and that there is another set of extensions for uploads: a 
BL> .CMD workfile used to tell UUCICO what jobs to do. I wondered where it
BL> was getting it from...

Ok.

BL> Where can I find the format of these files? There is something
BL> called UUX which apparently does it, but it's not on the SPCUG...

I can give you the source code to uux, which won't work on your system, but
you may be able to glean the specs from it.

BL> This is one of the DAT files from your UUCPXMP file:

BL> S 0287.DAT D.krypton0287 shadow - 0287.DAT 0666
BL> S 0287.XQT X.krypton0287 shadow - 0287.XQT 0666

BL> That seems clear enough. It's telling UUCICO to rename 0287.DAT to
BL> D.krytron0287 in Unix format (krypton is the recipient)... but where
BL> does the 0666 come into it? 

Short answer - I don't know.  Long answer - 0666 is an octal number
containing the file mode as used by a unix system.  "0" is how
you indicate an octal number in C.  Unix files have modes, read, write and
execute, for user, group and world.  "execute" means that you can
run it if it is a program.  So you might find a file, having permissions of
"rwxrwxr-x", the first 3 mean that the user can read, write and
execute it, the second three mean that your group can read, write and
execute it, and the third three mean that the "great unwashed
world" can read it and execute it, but can't write to it.  These modes
require 1 bit each, to say whether they are on or off.  So the bit pattern
in this case is 111111101, or 111 111 101, or 0775.  0666 means rw-rw-rw-.

BL> How do you pick that number? 

Leave it at 0666?

BL> And how do
BL> you pick the 0287 (in hex, I suppose)? Or do you just pick it out of
BL> the air?

My guess is pick it out of the air.

BL> This is the 0287.XQT file...

BL> U shadow krypton
BL> Z
BL> F D.krypton0287
BL> I D.krypton0287
BL> C rmail leonard.erickson{at}hubert.rain.com

BL> I really need the format of these files...

I've just had a look at UUCPXMP, and you're using the wrong one.  That is
for mail.  Use the 0288.XQT file...

U news krypton
Z
F D.krypton0288
I D.krypton0288
C rnews

Change "krypton" to "Ubobl" for now, and leave the rest
the same (whatever it does).

PE>> 2. Who needs a UUCP account?

BL> I want my account name changed from Ubobl. "You-bobble" does not
BL> appeal to me. How about boblaw, nonsens, or zorro? 

I don't want to change your login name, since that is "standard".
 If you were a "normal unix user" dialling onto my system (or any
other unix system), you would be assigned a userid, most likely
"bobl".  However, if you turn around and ask for a UUCP account,
they'll tell you, "ok, it's set up, your UUCP userid is Ubobl",
the "U" being the convention to say that it is a UUCP account.

PE>> 3. Who needs more time (how much) to set up their UUCP account?

PE>> One of the options I have would be to run my system as fidonet
PE>> 8-9pm instead of vice-versa. Depends how many people are in
PE>> each camp.

BL> This would be okay for me.

Ok, if all the other answers are the same, I'll make the switch.

PE>> But like I said, this is all dependent on confirmation that my
PE>> own system is set up correctly!!!  

BL> How can I connect and disconnect echoes or groups or whatever they're 
BL> called? 

Send me a message in dial.tml.sysop and I'll make the change - when I have
that technology available!  Until then, you automatically get everything
(which you can obviously delete).  I'm pretty sure it will only take 1/2
hour to figure out how to do only send some newsgroups, but I haven't done
that yet.  I'm more worried that every message I post causes a core dump,
and that I have to make sure I do a 'ctlinnd flush ""' in order
to make sure even incoming UUCP mail gets sent out!

BL> How can I freq files (or FTP or whatever it's called)? 

You can't at this stage.

BL> How do my replies get back onto Fido? 

Don't worry about it, we have that technology (via Jeff Green).

BL> Where TF is AVT? 

The echo you weren't going to post in any more?  :-)  Rod was right, you
did get me.  Anyway, from all signs, it looks like avtech is coming in now,
although I'm a bit suspicious since there was only one message (from Frank)
in it.  The flood will probably come tomorrow.

BL> WTF is the name of your echoes anyway? 

dial.tml.locsysop
dial.tml.locuser
dial.avtech
dial.sysop

are the only ones available at this stage.

BL> WTF is *my* name? 

Use "Ubobl" everywhere, since that is by far the safest option. 
Unless it wants a large name, then use Ubobl.scorpio.rosebay.matra.com.au.

BL> Do I have an internet address like 
BL> zorro{at}scorpio.rosebay.matra.com.au?

Change the "zorro" to "Ubobl" and the answer is
"yes, I think so, but only on the 'pretend internet'". 
Basically, you are NOT internet contactable, if anyone on the real internet
uses that address, it won't reach you.  There are four separate things in
this world:

1. fidonet using FTN technology.
2. othernets using FTN technology (e.g. adultnet, 69:xxx).
3. internet using RFC technology
4. this new network using RFC technology

As far as I am aware, this is the first time anyone has done number 4. I've
never heard of an "othernet" being set up using the RFC stuff.

My original intention was to act as a GATE, to bring internet newsgroups
into the new network, so that on the real internet, they would all appear
as messages coming from avon{at}rosebay.matra.com.au (the only real address -
notice no scorpio).  The reason I was going to do the gating was mainly to
ensure a large supply of messages, and I was happy to gate from internet
technology to internet technology.  I am NOT happy to gate from internet
technology to fidonet technology.

However, since then, Jeff said that HE would gate the stuff, so now the new
network has a large supply of mail from fidonet, so there is no rush to get
the internet newsgroups.  Then there are all the other people O/S who have
said that want to join, and I suspect we will be organizing that by sending
the stuff in the new network OVER the internet, via a mail message or
something.  One of them may start bringing in real internet newsgroups
themselves, we'll see what happens.

PE>> P.S. BTW, I'll be setting up a "dial.sysop" newsgroup soon,
PE>> which will hopefully be spread to the other sysops interested
PE>> in the new network, to discuss where we want to take this.

BL> Can you explain the way these things are named?

I don't really know.  There are high level names used like "alt"
and "comp". I chose something else, "dial".  Under
that, it's free-for-all.  I chose to use "dial.xxxx" for
something that was a generally public echo, and "dial.tml.yyyy"
for something that was just local to my system, in the same way that
LOCSYSOP and LOCUSER are local to my system.

BL> I'm a long way from a practical mailer. So far, I've written the bit
BL> that uncompresses the mail packets and I can read it with Qedit, but
BL> I'm a long way from being able to send replies (unless you don't mind
BL> them not being strictly rfc-822)

No, I don't mind.  Just send me anything that you think will make it here,
and I'll let you know if it made it or not.  We are all very much in the
experimental stage here.  BFN.  Paul.
@EOT:

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