MM> Since bbsnets has sporadic uptime and is infrequently up and the message I
 MM> left there may not reach this forum for awhile. I will ask my basic
 MM> questions right now.

If you don't get a response the message could've been lost/stopped in
transit. Try checking another BBS closer to your Zone Coordinator.

 MM> 1. How do I do local file uploads under Maximus?

Yeah. No builtin Local Upload for Max. Maybe that might be fixed in future. 

Look for alf30wb.zip (1996) somewhere on the FDN:

 ALF v3.0wb - Add Local File to Maximus.
 Complete file manager for Maximus v3.x.
 Import can run vircheck.bat, prompt for
 description or display entry in Maximus
 and run editor. 2xhurl has auto 2nd hurl
 30 days later! Wildcards, file tagger for
 Hurl/Kill. Sort FILES.BBS or run FB in
 current/ all areas. Touch, count, add
 missing, backup, more! EVERYTHING works
 from REMOTE. Install and online help.

By the looks of it it's made for inline BBS execution. So it'll probably do
what you want.

I use one really crappy one called "lul2max" (1992) for Maximus
2.0(x?) which still works with v3.01. I don't know how good the ALF manager
is, but maybe one day (and I emphasise "one day" ...) I'll write
a builtin Win32 GUI file manager for Max with drag & drop etc but umm I
think there're already sufficiently usable console based file managers for
Maximus. I haven't mucked around with Maximus utilities lately, so search
the FDN, maximus.outpostbbs.net or some diehard Maximus BBS.

Seriously I just manage files/areas with Windows Explorer & notepad :)
Works for me. Else use telnet uploading via your BBS telnet client.

Anyway these tools typically use batch files and MECCA to do their work. So
they're more like work-around hacks than programs.

 MM> 2. Is there any better message editor for the bbs than 
 MM> the internal editor?

There're 2 builtin editors from the user Change Menu, 1) MaxEd (full screen
editor), and 2) BORED (line-oriented editor).

But you can use any external message editor.

You configure it in Max.Ctl using the "Local Editor" item.

Not quite sure how it'll handle msg quoting etc. ie. It might dump the
entire message to file, and your editor will open (and quote) the entire
file so you might lose selective quoting flexibillity. I don't know (I've
never added an external editor myself).

People've set up IceEdit for Maximus (and from memory there's Maximus
specific documentation for IceEdit). IceEdit's pretty cool. It's a
simplistic and user friendly editor.

Synchronet offers the user a choice between different configured editors
which is handy. "One day" I'll add the same feature to Maximus.

 MM> 3. Whats special about Maximus 3.02 and is there any vital changes for the
 MM> DOS or Win32 audience?

Yeah. The vital change is there're no binaries in 3.02. It's a source code
distribution which you have to self-compile. I suspect it was an abandoned
work-in-progress. Which means potential broken code somewhere. My guess is 
Scott Dudley might've been working on some new OS/2 stuff.
                                                          
But I have successfully compiled Maximus 3.02 for DOS and Win32 but it was
very tricky. The executables appear to work. So probably no broken code
there. I probably need to fix some compiler flags and read the Changes
between Watcom 10.6 vs. Open Watcom 1.5 ... btw; the author stated that
Watcom/Open Watcom were the only supported compilers but people have ported
MaxS_302 source to gcc/Linux and called it v3.03 :)

The annoying thing is to my knowledge the author didn't leave a change
history. So I don't know what his aims were for 3.02, nor what was focused
on before he jumped ship.

Bottom line is I don't know what's "special" about 3.02. Maybe
the author just bumped up the version for fun.

"One day" I'll be growing money trees so perhaps if he's still
alive I will contract him to update Maximus :), or maybe start a software
company that develops Maximus BBS Software (!) ... but don't hold your
breath.

The problem with the current Win32 version is it can't handle DOS doors.
There's no Maximus native door32.sys support, unless I or somebody fixes it
"one day" or NetFoss supports it somehow (which is under
consideration by Mike Elhert (top bloke)).

--- Maximus 3.01