Compiling the Node List
    -----------------------
    With each Fido site being referred to by a bunch of numbers, we need
    some way to look up the actual information for this site.  That is how
    we will know what number to dial.  The nodelist contains this
    information.  Early on in the configuration for Fido, one of your tasks
    was to obtain the nodelist.

    Looking at the list, you can see it is a standard ASCII file.  To look
    up a site in this file would take a lot of time.  That is why many Fido
    compatible mailers, including PCBoard, will compile the node list.   In
    compiled form, sites can be looked up quickly by referring to an index
    file.

    Compiling the list is very easy with PCBoard.  The "Nodelist
    Configuration" and "File & Directory Configuration"
options from the
    Fido menu tell PCBoard where the source nodelist can be found and where
    the compiled nodelist database is stored respectively.

    From the PCBoard call-waiting screen, press ALT-F.  The following
    menu will appear in the middle of the screen:

                ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ"
                º         Sysop FIDO Menu          º
                º                                  º
                º   1) Poll a Node.                º
                º   2) Request a file.             º
                º   3) Transmit a file.            º
                º   4) Force next call.            º
                º   5) View/Modify Queue.          º
                º   6) Scan for outbound mail.     º
                º   7) Process inbound mail.       º
                º   8) Compile Nodelist.           º
                º   9) Send Mail to a Node.        º
                º                                  º
                º   Enter selection:               º
                ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ

    Notice number 8 on this menu.  When you select this option PCBoard
    shells out and compiles the nodelist.  The display you see while the
    list is compiled resembles the following:

      Status : Processing nodelist file: C:\PCB\FIDO\NODELIST\NODELIST.350
      Message: Processing Net: 1:251
      % Done : ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

    This process will take several minutes to complete.  At any time,
    pressing ESC aborts the compilation and returns you to the call-waiting
    screen.

    Adding a User Record for the Coordinator / Host
    -----------------------------------------------
    PCBFido keeps track of information about other sites you exchange mail
    with in user records.  Before netmail can be sent, we have to have a
    user record defined for the coordinator.

    To add the user record for the net coordinator follow these instructions:

      1.  Select "Users File Maintenance" from the Main Menu

      2.  Select "Edit Users File".  At this point you should see the
          SysOp record (#1).

      3.  Press ALT-A to add a new user record.

      4.  In the "Name" field, enter "~FIDO~" followed
by the address of the
          net coordinator.  To create an account for the Fido node 1:311/0,
          enter the following:

             ~FIDO~1:311/0

      5.  Press F3 to view the Fido Form of the user record.  The screen
          resembles the following:

                                   Edit User Record (Fido Form)

             Name        : ~FIDO~1:311/0

             Passwords
             Session        :
             AreaFix        :
             Packet         :
             Phone Override :
             Security Level : 0
             Delete User    : N

      6.  There are three possible passwords to be concerned with when
          sending or receiving Fido messages: Session, AreaFix, and Packet.
          For now, leave these blank.  Once you permanently become a part of
          the network, you will probably have a session password assigned

    Creating the Netmail Conferences
    --------------------------------
    The final setup step for sending netmail is to setup the netmail
    conference, where all mail is sent and received, and what is coined as
    the "Bad Mail" conference, where unplacable mail is stored.

    What follows assumes knowledge of how to create a conference in PCBoard.
    If this topic is unfamiliar, consult the index in the printed manual
    for additional information.

    When adding a new network to the system, many SysOps like to make
    the starting conference number even.  A good example of this is making
    the first conference number 100, 200, or 1000.  Following this type of
    number scheme provides a good way to group conferences.

    For the purpose of this example, let's make the starting conference
    number 100.  We'll make conference 100 the "Bad Mail" conference and
    101 will send/receive the netmail.

    Create conferences 100 and 101 and configure them to be clones of the
    Main Board (#0).  Once that is done, all that remains is to edit the
    location of the message bases and configure a few options.  The following
    breaks down all that must be done to configure the two conferences after
    being cloned.

    "Bad Mail" (Conference 100)

      1.  Change the name/location of the message base to P:\PCB\FIDO\BADMSGS
          or whatever is appropriate for your system.

      2.  Press PgDn to edit the conference options.

      3.  Change the "Type of netmail" option to 5 so PCBoard
will know it is
          a Fido Conference.

      4.  Press PgDn again to get to the Fido Configuration screen for the
          conference.  In the "Area Name" field, enter
"BAD".  This name is
          referred to as the tag for the area.

    "Netmail" (Conference 101)

      1.  Change the name/location of the message base to ..\FIDO\NETMAIL
          or whatever is appropriate for your system.

      2.  Press PgDn to edit the conference options.

      3.  Using the list below, set the fields listed in the left column to
          the response in the right column.

             Make All Messages Private         Y
             Force Echo on All Messages        Y
             Type of Netmail Conference        5
             Allow Internet (long) TO: Names   Y

      4.  Press PgDn to get to the Fido configuration screen.  As the tag
          or area name for the conference, enter "NETMAIL".

    That's it.  We're now ready to test the netmail capabilities and send
    the message to the coordinator.

    Sending the Netmail Message
    ---------------------------
    Congratulations!  The hard part of the configuration has been done.
    Now, we're ready to put the configuration through the paces and see
    if there are any problems.  The test is sending a netmail message to the
    hub and in receiving a reply.

    1.  Log into the system as the SysOp.

    2.  Join the netmail conference you setup in the "Creating the Netmail
        Conferences" section.

    3.  Use the "E" command to enter a message.  When asked who the message
        is to be addressed to, enter

           SYSOP{at}(Fido address)  

        Replace (Fido address) with the address of the coordinator.  For
        example, to send mail to the coordinator of 1:311, the message is
        addressed as:

           SYSOP{at}1:311/0  

        The +C and +D flags tell PCBFido to send the mail out as CRASH
        (don't wait for an event to tell it when to dial out) and DIRECT
        (ignore routing information).  Don't worry if you do not understand
        the terms CRASH and DIRECT .  As you learn more about Fido and
        continue on with the setup, these concepts will become more familiar
        to you.

    4.  When prompted for the "subject", enter something meaningful such as
        "Request to become a new Fido node."

    5.  Information about you and your system must be entered in the body
        of the message.  A good format to follow is:

          Request to have a node number assigned to my system:

          NAME----------:
          Address-------:
          Voice Phone---:
          Data Phone----:
          Machine Make--:
          Model - CPU---:
          CPU Speed-----:
          Multitasker---:
          Lan Software--:
          Operating Sys-:
          Disk Storage--:
          Mailer Softw--: PCBoard v15.21
          Mail Tosser---: PCBoard v15.21
          Modem Speed---:
          Modem Mfr.----:
          Modem Supports:
          Modem Model---:
          Online since--:
          BBS Name------:
          BBS Software--: PCBoard v15.21
          Session Passwd:
          AreaFix Passwd:
          Compression---:(ZIP, LZH, ARJ, ARC, PAK)

    6.  When all of the information has been entered, save the message.

    7.  Logoff the BBS and return to the call-waiting screen.

    8.  Press ALT-F to bring up the Fido menu.  Select "Scan for
outbound mail"
        from this menu.

    9.  The screen will flash as PCBoard scans for mail to be exported.

    10.  Next, check to see if the mail was found to be exported.  Select
         "View/Modify Queue".  When you do, the Fido window will look
         similar to the following example:

                ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ"
                º     View/Modify Outbound Queue   º
                º                                1 º
                º   Filename : 28162430.PKT        º
                º   Address  : 1:311/0             º
                º                                  º
                º   F) Flag  : CRASH               º
                º   S) Send This Packet            º

    11.  Hit ESC until you get back to the call-waiting screen.  Now just
    wait for about 1 minute or two when the dial timer (PCBSetup | Fido
    Configuration | Fido Configuration) and PCBoard checks for any outgoing
    mail.  A call will be made to your hub and the message is sent.  Expect
    at least a couple of days before you receive a response via netmail.
    Before you can receive a response, you must make sure Zone Mail Hour
    is honored/configured on the system.

    Configuring Zone Mail Hour
    --------------------------
    Now that the mail has been sent to the coordinator, zone mail hour must
    be setup on your system so a reply can be received and a node number
    assigned to your BBS.  It is during Zone Mail Hour that the mail assigning
    your node number is sent.  Zone mail hour is one hour where every site
    in the network is set to disallow human callers and netmail is
    transferred.  Utilizing this design, netmail is sent in a quicker
    fashion.

    Setting up Zone Mail Hour is really quite easy.  Using PCBoard's event
    editor, simply add an entry resembling the following:

                       Batch     Begin  End                         Last
             Act  Mod  File      Time   Time   SMTWTFS    Date      Date
             ÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ  ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
        1)    Y    M   MAILHOUR  02:00  03:00  YYYYYYY            00-00-00

    That's all there is to defining the event.  The most difficult step for
    you is determining when the Mail Hour is.  The POLICY4.TXT file
    (obtained when using the FINDFIDO command on Salt Air) reveals
    additional information about when zone mail hour is.  If you have
    difficulty determining the time, contact a node in your area (refer to
    FINDFIDO.LST if you must); they will have the answer.

*** NOTE: Most likely this event will only need to run on one node.  If
          this sounds like what you need, be sure to rename the MAILHOUR
          file to MAILHOUR.### where ### is the node number.  For example,
          if node 9 is to run the event, I'll rename the MAILHOUR file found
          in the event batch file directory to MAILHOUR.009 (the leading
          zeros are important).

    Now just wait for a reply for coordinator.  Remember, it can take up to
    two weeks to do all of the processing and assign a node number please be
    patient.


cont...

--- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10