Hi Paul,

Paul Quinn wrote in a message to Richard Webb:

PQ> I'm sorry Richard, I've been a lazy jerk with this project.  The
PQ> thing works (though it needs a little more work), and I've just been
PQ> doing occasional tests over the last couple of weeks.  Initially I
PQ> tried picking random nodes to search but I just ended-up searching
PQ> for fellers I knew; for the last lot of tests that I did, I tried
PQ> using the nodes listed in the last echomail in each echo I read. 
PQ> That seemed a little better and more 'honest'.

Appreciate all your work on this.  I"m surprised nobody's done it before.

I"ll check out the bfds stuff I've got, and raid our good moderator's
system for things I might not have to make this run. Ben's system has
helped me get a lot of it back after Katrina destroyed my old working bbs
setup and a lot of my bfds archives. THose archives ended in about '97 when
I took my fido board down.  WAs just getting ready to get started with a
fido board again before the big storm hit.

PQ> You'll also need a copy of "Replace.Com" by Gene Garapic, back in
PQ> '88.  I still have a copy of the cscripted post by Bat Lang from
PQ> back in '97 which I use, so, I could simply post it here again. 

THat might be an idea if it isn't a file available on bfds.

PQ> (Mind you, there are a number of generic search & replace utils in
PQ> the BFDS but I haven't checked them out.) 

PQ> Which leads me to a question: should the replace operation be done
PQ> every time you want to do a search, or would it be better to run the
PQ> replace 'search & destroy' just once for each new nodelist, and,
PQ> keep using that cleaned-out nodelist?  What do you reckon?

I'd say do the replace functions once and use that cleaned up nodelist for
the searches.  IN fact, that could be part of one's weekly nodediff
processing automation imho. THe actual lookup function would probably run
smoother quicker and cleaner that way.

PQ> Ermmm... and, what version of Windows/DOS do you run (again)? 

RUnning dos 6.22 standing alone on this box.   WHen we're dsl I'm still not
sure what I want to do with bbs, whether to be a masochist and run it under
windows 98 or something. Or, a linux dos emulator.  NOT sure how we're
going yet but that's some time down the road.

tHanks for all your work on this project Paul.  as I said, I'm surprised
nobody did it before .

Regards,
           Richard
--- timEd 1.10.y2k+