BJ> Now one thing your are forgetting, is that a sysop could help a new 
 BJ> user when they first start using the BBS.

 MK> I am not forgetting.  What you seem to be overlooking 
 MK> is that not many people out there are using terminal 
 MK> programs anymore.  I think BBS's might require a 
 MK> different approach to take advantage of browsers and the such.

And here we are straying from what I would define as a BBS....  Yes, I
agree different approaches (browser based, etc.) are needed to get to the
users, but that is not a "BBS" to me....  And while I agre that
adding a web interface to access what is accessable from Max (message and
file base) would be nice, I do not see it as part of Max....  Instead the
web access should be served up (by an application running) on a normal
(Apache?) web server......

 BJ> I am sure there are many 
 BJ> users that were not familiar with a given BBS interface when they 
 BJ> first called one (or more) BBS(es).  This is where 
 BJ> it was usefull for 
 BJ> the Sysop to see what was going on with his system.....

 MK> Better to see what the user is seeing.  Hence my 
 MK> running a local networked point using the same 
 MK> programs, more or less, as any other point remotely 
 MK> would use.  This way I see it from their perspective.  
 MK> I would like the BBS to be the same.  Then I'd know.  :-)

I think we will agree to disagree....  The sysop console is there so the
sysop *can* see exactly what the user is seeing....

Someone comming in as a fidonet point is not a BBS user....  Someone
comming in via a web site is not a BBS user.  Yes, these are potentially
alternate methods of accessing fidonet's information.  Max currently does
work in conjustion with other tools (via using squish) for allowing fidonet
points to access stuff.  And some folks have integerated web based
interfaces to BBS packages.....  While Max (or a program written to
interact with Max) may eventually be written, that isn't going to be the
initial push.  At least from my view point.  Yes, I may be wrong on where
this project will head in the short term.....  It would be easier (in my
opinion) to write a piece of code to interface a web server (apache) with
the bbs database (echo areas and file areas) than to modify max to also
become a web server....


Take care.....

Bob Jones, 1:343/41

--- Maximus/2 3.01