DOVE-Net Introduction, Rules and Instructions
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$Id: dove-net.txt,v 1.13 2007/07/13 01:22:23 rswindell Exp $

*****************************************
* Answers to Frequently Asked Questions *
*****************************************

Q. What is DOVE-Net?

A. DOVE-Net is a message network connecting numerous BBSes and the users on
   those BBSes together through QWK and Fido networking technologies. DOVE-Net
   consists of primarily Synchronet {tm} BBSes. This is due to the fact that
   the co-founders of DOVE-Net are also the developers of Synchronet BBS
   software. DOVE-Net is not limited to one specific BBS package and welcomes
   any QWK or Fido network compatible BBS to join as long as their software of
   choice does not interfere with the operation of the network in any way.


Q. Why the name DOVE-Net?

A. Two BBSes began DOVE-Net back in 1989. These BBSes were Vertrauen (Home
   of Synchronet BBS Software) and The Beast's Domain (Home of Domain
   Entertainment BBS Add-ons). The word DOVE came from DOmain VErtrauen,
   much like the word MODEM came from MOdulator DEModulator. It has nothing
   to do with that species of bird or the symbolism of peace, but we have
   nothing against those things either. It was a small network that needed
   a small name.


Q. What is the focus of DOVE-Net?

A. Connecting BBS sysops and users without a lot of politics and red tape.
   DOVE-Net requires no "application processing time" or "node numbers" to
   be assigned. While the capabilities of DOVE-Net rival those of more
   technically complex networks, it has none of the setup complexities as
   reflected by the fact that many of the systems on DOVE-Net are managed by
   first-time sysops. DOVE-Net allows (or rather encourages) the use of color
   codes in messages (preferably using the Synchronet Ctrl-A standard, but
   Wildcat, PCBoard, Celerity, Renegade, and WWIV color codes are also
   supported in Synchronet BBS software and may also be used). DOVE-Net allows
   the use of aliases, ANSI encoded messages (when necessary for animation)
   and use of high-ASCII characters. There are no strict "hubbing" rules;
   pretty much anyone that's willing to feed anyone else is encouraged to do
   so. DOVE-Net is moderated only by the founders of the network so there
   aren't different rules for different message areas that users need to
   remember. Private messages are allowed, but when possible, routed NetMail
   is preferred. DOVE-Net has very few rules, and the few that do exist are
   often bent.


*********
* Rules *
*********

DOVE-Net has mostly been a self-moderated network. This means that the sysops
of DOVE-Net have decided when a specific message, user, or thread is deemed
inappropriate. However, today, most of the users of DOVE-Net are also the 
sysops of DOVE-Net. And when there are too many "kings", you can have chaos.
The ultimate "king" of DOVE-Net is me, Digital Man (Rob Swindell). I don't
claim this title because I want to, but rather because I have to: someone has
to be "king" or NC (Network Coordinator), or whatever-you-want-to-call-it.

If a sysop has a complaint or suggestion about DOVE-Net, they usually e-mail
me or post on the "DOVE-Net Sysops Only" conference. The "DOVE-Net Sysops
Only" conference is the preferred venue for internal DOVE-Net discussion
(and test messages). However, this conference is not guaranteed to be limited
to "DOVE-Net Sysops Only" (some sysops do slip up and allow access to normal
users). So for the most sensitive matters, it is recommended that sysops send
me e-mail.

DOVE-Net has survived and even at times thrived for over a dozen years
without a specific set of "rules", but recent user activies have convinced me
that I need to "lay down the law". So here we go:

The following actions are not allowed:

        1. Excessive personal attacks
        2. Excessive use of profanity
        3. Excessive off-topic messages
        4. Excessive advertisements
        5. Excessive use of capital letters
        6. Excessive use of non-English text
        7. Encoded, encrypted, or otherwise indecipherable messages
        8. Fraudulent messages
        9. Impersonating someone you are not

How do you know if an action constitutes "excessive" behavior or not? Compare
your actions to those of other long-time DOVE-Net sysops and users. If your
messages seem "out of place" it's probably because they are.

A violation of these rules may result in a warning, a reprimand, or in the
worst cases, temporary or permanent expulsion from DOVE-Net. Or there may be
no consequences at all. There may be no warning at all. I give no guarantee
of consistent, fair, or impartial enforcement of these rules. But generally
speaking, if you use common sense and don't abuse the network or the sysops
or users in the network, you'll do just fine. I certainly gain no pleasure
from enforcing rules and would rather everyone "just get along" and the net
continue to self-rule as it has since King Drafus and I created it so many
years ago.

DOVE-Net is not a democracy. You are not guaranteed "free speech" or
"equal opportunity". DOVE-Net access is a privilege, not a right.

The sysops of DOVE-Net Node BBSes are expected to enforce the "Access
Requirements" of DOVE-Net, as specified later in this document.


****************
* Instructions *
****************

Step 1: Choose a QWK-ID
=======================

If you're using Synchronet BBS Software, your BBS's QWK-ID is configured 
in SCFG->Message Options->BBS ID for QWK Packets. SCFG is the Synchronet 
Configuration Utility accessible by running exec/scfg or using the
BBS->Configure menu option in the Synchronet Control Panel (Win32 only).

Your QWK-ID should be an abbreviation of your BBS name or have some other
personal significance, and must be unique among others on DOVE-Net (see 
NODES.DAT included in DOVE-NET.ZIP to verify the uniqueness of your QWK-ID).
[ftp://vert.synchro.net/main/bbs/dove-net.zip]

QWK-IDs are limited to a maximum of eight characters in length, may only
contain valid DOS filename characters, and MUST begin with an alphabetic 
character. QWK-IDs are not case sensitive. 

At this point you probably should also set your QWKnet tagline to something
that represents (or advertises) your BBS.  In Synchronet this is done in
SCFG->Networks->QWK->Default Tagline.


Step 2: Create a QWKnet Account
===============================

Assuming you will be using Vertrauen BBS as your hub, you will need to logon
as "New" at telnet://vert.synchro.net and create your QWKnet account using
your BBS's QWK-ID as the user name (even if you already have a regular user
account there). 

*** IMPORTANT ***
You must answer (Y)es to the following new user question:
"Is this account to be used for QWK Networking (DOVE-Net)?"

Remember the password you used to create this account, you'll need it later.

When you get to the QWK: prompt, you need to (C)hange Packet Configuration
to match the following (if you're running Synchronet):

QWK Settings:

A) Ctrl-A Color Codes            : Leave in
T) Archive Type                  : ZIP
E) Include E-mail Messages       : Un-read Only
I) Include File Attachments      : Yes
D) Delete E-mail Automatically   : Yes
F) Include New Files List        : No
N) Include Index Files           : No
C) Include Control Files         : No
Y) Include Messages from You     : No
Z) Include Time Zone (TZ)        : Yes
V) Include Message Path (VIA)    : Yes
M) Include Message/Reply IDs     : Yes	(Synchronet v3.10+)
X) Extended (QWKE) Packet Format : No

You may also want to take this opportunity to (S)elect Areas to Scan
from the QWK: prompt and set all the DOVE-Net sub-boards to "On".

It is important that you do NOT use a regular user account for QWK packet
transfers.


Step 3: Adding DOVE-Net Message Areas to your BBS
=================================================

If you're using Synchronet BBS Software, then you most likely already have
the DOVE-Net message areas pre-configured in SCFG->Message Areas->DOVE-Net.
If not, then you'll need to create some or all of the message areas listed
below in SCFG->Message Areas->DOVE-Net:


DOVE-Net Conferences (aka sub-boards):

Name                                      Access Requirements   Posting Reqs
--------------------------------------    -------------------   ------------
General
Advertisements
Entertainment
Debate
Hardware/Software Help
Programming
Unix Discussion
HAM Radio Operators
Internet Discussion
Pro-Audio Discussion
Firearms Discussion
Sports Discussion
Religious Discussion/Debate/Evangelism
Hobby Corner (RC/modeling/etc)
Synchronet Announcements                                        USER NOT 0
Synchronet Discussion
Synchronet Sysops Only                    LEVEL 90 OR REST Q
Synchronet Programming (Baja)
Synchronet Programming (JavaScript)
Synchronet Programming (C/C++ and CVS)
Synchronet Data                           LEVEL 90 OR REST Q
DOVE-Net Sysops Only                      LEVEL 90 OR REST Q


Access Requirements
-------------------
The "Synchronet Announcements" conference is a publicly accessible
*read-only* conference for announcements from authorized Synchronet
developers (currently only myself). No-one on your BBS may be allowed
to post messages in this message area. This can be accomplished in 
Synchronet by setting the "Posting Requirements" to "USER NOT 0".

The messsages posted in this conference are also distributed as
an Internet mailing-list. You can subscribe to this mailing-list by
sending an Internet e-mail to listserv@synchro.net with
"subscribe announce" in the message body.

The "Synchronet Sysops Only" conference should not be publicly accessible,
except for users that claim to be Synchronet Sysops.

The "Synchronet Data" conference contains messages not intended for human
consumption (the messages are used to synchronize the global BBS List and
Match Maker databases), so this message area should not be publicly
accessible.

The "DOVE-Net Sysops Only" conference MUST NOT be publicly accessible. This
message area is for discussion among DOVE-Net Sysops ONLY. This is the
correct message area to use for "test messages".

If you have a Guest/Anonymous user account on your BBS, it MUST NOT have
posting privilages to *any* of the DOVE-Net conferences. This can most
easily be achieved in Synchronet by giving the "Guest" account the 'P'
(posting) or 'N' (networked sub-board) restrictions. When the "Guest"
account is created using the stock Synchronet 'makeguest.js' script, it will
already have the 'P' restriction applied.

If a DOVE-Net QWKnet node (BBS) does not follow these Access Requirements,
it can, without warning or notice, lose some or all of its DOVE-Net access.


Gateways
--------
You *must not* gate DOVE-Net conferences to any other network without
explicit, prior permission. 

The following DOVE-Net conferences are already gated to other networks:

Synchronet Discussion  <=> alt.bbs.synchronet USENET newsgroup
Synchronet Discussion  <=> SYNCHRONET echo on the FidoNet Zone 1 Backbone
Synchronet Sysops Only <=> SYNC_SYSOPS echo on the FidoNet Zone 1 Backbone
Synchronet Programming <=> SYNC_PROGRAMMING echo on the FidoNet Zone 1 Backbone
Synchronet Data        <=> SYNCDATA echo on the FidoNet Zone 1 Backbone


Step 4: Configure your QWKnet Hub
=================================

Synchronet SCFG->Networks->QWK->Hubs->VERT:

Hub System ID              VERT

Pack Command Line          %@zip -jD %f %s
Unpack Command Line        %@unzip -Coj %f %s -d %g

Call-out Command Line      *qnet-ftp %s dove.synchro.net YOURPASS

Replace YOURPASS with the password you used when creating your QWKnet account.

Call-out Node              1
Call-out Days              All
Call-out Frequency         4 times a day

Networked Sub-boards...

Conf#   Group           Sub-board
-----   -----           ---------
2001    DOVE-Net        General
2002    DOVE-Net        Advertisements
2003    DOVE-Net        Entertainment
2004    DOVE-Net        Debate
2005    DOVE-Net        Hardware/Software Help
2006    DOVE-Net        Programming
2009    DOVE-Net        Unix Discussion
2015    DOVE-Net        HAM Radio
2016    DOVE-Net        Internet Discussion
2017    DOVE-Net        Pro-Audio Discussion
2018    DOVE-Net        Firearms Discussion
2019    DOVE-Net        Sports Discussion
2020    DOVE-Net        Religious Discussion/Debate/Evangelism
2021    DOVE-Net        Hobby Corner (RC/modeling/etc)
2030    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Announcements
2007    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Discussion
2008    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Sysops Only
2011    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Programming (Baja)
2012    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Programming (JavaScript)
2014    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Programming (C/C++ and CVS)
2013    DOVE-Net        Synchronet Data
2010    DOVE-Net        DOVE-Net Sysops Only

Ctrl-A codes should be set to "Leave in" for all.


Step 5: Turn on the DOVE-Net conferences on your QWKnet Hub
===========================================================

If you haven't already done so, either:

1. Logon to your Hub (e.g. Vertrauen) via Telnet and (S)elect Areas to Scan
   from the QWK: prompt and set all DOVE-Net sub-boards to "On".

or:

2. Logon to your BBS and post a message in each of the DOVE-Net message areas
   to: "SBBS" with a subject of "ADD" (these are called "QWK control msgs").


Step 6: Force a Network Call-out
================================

If using the Synchronet-Win32 Control Panel, use the BBS->Force Network
Call-out menu option and select "VERT".

If using Unix/Linux, use the following command-line (with correct path):
# touch /sbbs/data/qnet/vert.now

Watch your event log/window for QNET-FTP log messages.

NOTE: Vertrauen limits the size of QWK packets, currently to 10,000
      messages per packet, so it might take several call-outs to get all
      the messages stored in the DOVE-Net conferences on Vertrauen.


Finished
========

You should now see messages in at least some of the DOVE-Net sub-boards on
your BBS.  Remember, it may take several DOVE-Net call-outs to get *all*
the DOVE-Net messages from your hub (be patient).  Now congratulate yourself
for doing something successfully that only *hundreds* of sysops have done
before you!


**********************
* Reference Material *
**********************

QWK Technical Notes
===================

Non-Synchronet systems importing DOVE-Net messages may notice some things about
the messages which are different from other BBS packages. The first line of
each message may contain "@VIA:" and a list of DOVE-Net BBS ID's the message
has passed through, each separated by a slash character. This line is used to
automatically create and maintain the Synchronet ROUTE.DAT "map" file as well 
as detect circular message paths (dupe loops). The first or second line of each
message may contain "@TZ:" and a four character hexadecimal number. This is the
time zone (as defined in the SMB specification) of the BBS that the message was
originally posted on. These Synchronet-specific QWK features can be disabled
from the online QWK: menu. Note, if Ctrl-A codes are enabled, the @VIA/@TZ
lines are automatically enabled for QWKnet nodes as well. So to disable the 
@VIA/@TZ lines, you must also disable (strip) Ctrl-A codes.

Messages exported from Synchronet may also contain Synchronet Ctrl-A color
codes. These can be disabled for any hubs you're calling in SCFG (Synchronet
Configuration Program) or if the other BBS is calling you, then they can
disable them by sending a message to "SBBS" with a title of "CTRL-A STRIP".

The following control messages are supported by Synchronet for QWK networking.
The message must be posted to "SBBS" from the node BBS:

Subj: DROP [conf#]
Note: Drop current conference (or specified conference #) from future packets

Subj: ADD [ptr | -msgs | mm/dd/yy]
Note: Add current conference to future packets and optionally set message ptr

Subj: RESET [ptr | -msgs | mm/dd/yy]
Note: Set message pointer for current conference, - indicates offset from last

Subj: RESETALL [ptr | -msgs | mm/dd/yy]
Note: Set message pointers for all conferences

Subj: FREQ <filename>
Note: File Request from file transfer database (not attachments)

Subj: FILES [ON | OFF | mm/dd/yy]
Note: Include files list in packet and/or specify new-scan date

Subj: ATTACH [ON | OFF]
Note: Include file attachments in packet automatically (e-mail only)

Subj: CTRL-A [KEEP | EXPAND | STRIP]
Note: Ctrl-A color/attribute codes - leave-in, expand to ANSI, or remove

Subj: TZ [ON | OFF]
Note: Include time-zone (@TZ) lines in exported messages

Subj: VIA [ON | OFF]
Note: Include path (@VIA) lines in exported messages

Subj: MSGID [ON | OFF]
Note: Include @MSGID and @REPLY lines in exported messages

Subj: NDX [ON | OFF]
Note: Include index (.NDX) files

Subj: CONTROL [ON | OFF]
Note: Include extraneous control files (CONTROL.DAT, DOOR.ID, NETFLAGS.DAT)


Terminology (as used in this document)
======================================

Hub:      A BBS that feeds another BBS messages for a message network
Node:     A BBS that calls another BBS to exchange messages for a network
          A BBS can be (and most often is) either "both a node and a hub"
          or "only a node", if you're joining DOVE-Net for the first time,
          then your system will be "only a node".
QWK:      Message packet format used for off-line mail readers
QWKnet:   Message networking technology using QWK packets
Fido:     Message networking technology based on Fido BBS software
FidoNet:  The single largest amateur message network on Earth {tm}
Echo:     Message area that is connected to multiple BBSes via message
          network
NetMail:  Private message between one user and another not stored in a
          topical message area (echo), similar in princicple to Internet 
          e-mail
SMB:      Synchronet Message Base format, download SMB_*.ZIP from
          Vertrauen for technical specification and C library


Contact Information
===================
Vertrauen:      telnet/http/ftp/nntp/gopher/finger: vert.synchro.net
Co-founder:     rob [at] synchro [dot] net


/* End of DOVE-NET.TXT */
