NEW LIBRARY FEATURES SOFTWARE Please go to the New Member Help Forum (GO HELPFORUM) or Customer Service Feedback (GO FEEDBACK) with any questions. SUMMARY: Beginning in mid-March, CompuServe forums are being changed to add new features to the libraries, change the charges of sending mail from forums, and fix some problems in the forum software. Highlights of these changes include: - Expansion of file names to 8.3 - Addition of uploader names to file descriptions - Sending mail from an extended service forum is free of postage charges - Messages that scroll from a forum in less than one week and messages that sysops send from a forum will be sent free of postage charges - Change of format of library terminal emulation commands and addition of INVentory command - Addition of a copyright agreement prompt when contributing files EXPLANATION OF ALL CHANGES I. File descriptions II. Terminal emulation library commands/new command III. New upload prompt IV. Mail from forums I. FILE DESCRIPTIONS -------------------- All of the following parts of a file's description have been expanded to allow more room: FILENAME: Filenames can now be up to eight characters long, a period, then up to three characters in the extension (for example, FILENAME.TXT). This is an increase in size of two characters. All files that were uploaded before this upgrade will keep their original name; files can also be less than 8.3 characters long. CONTRIBUTOR: File descriptions will now display the contributor's name as well as User ID. This name is captured from the contributor's forum name at the time he or she uploads the file. If the contributor changes his or her name later, the change will not be recorded in the file without modification by the sysop. FILE SIZE: While there is no limit to the size of a library file, the amount of room that is reserved in file descriptions for size is being expanded to 999 megs. ACCESS COUNT: No hard limit is set for the count of the number of times a file has been downloaded, but descriptions are being expanded to allow up to 999,999 downloads. The following parts of a file description have not been changed: submitted date, file type, title, keywords, and description (abstract). II. TERMINAL EMULATION LIBRARY COMMANDS/NEW COMMAND ---------------------------------------------------- These changes in the file description fields (file name, contributor name, etc) means that the format for the displays of these files will be different. CIM, CSNav, and other HMI programs: Members using the CompuServe Information Manager will be able to use 8.3 filenames and expanded file sizes and download counts with no problems. They will not see contributor names as part of a file's description until later CIM versions, which will support the new information. Members using CSNav will be able to upload 8.3 filenames and see contributor names in the next version of the software. Other programs: In terminal emulation, the BROWSE, DIRECTORY, and LIST commands will have modified formats, and a new command, INVENTORY, has been added to allow quick listings of the files in a forum. *BROWSE format example* [76703,4363] Mike Schoenbach [SYSOP] POLICIES.TXT Text, Bytes:123456789, Count:321019, 30-Oct-94(15-Nov-94) Title : Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures Keywords: PRACTICE FORUM GUIDELINE POLICY RULES OPERATING PROCEDURE AGREEMENT This file outlines the purpose and design of the Practice Forum, our Forum Rules and Operating Procedures, and the entire agreement between you and the Forum Administrator concerning your participation in this Forum. *DIR format example* [76703,4363] Mike Schoenbach [SYSOP] POLICIES.TXT Text, Bytes:123456789, Count:321019, 30-Oct-94(15-Nov-94) *LIST format example* POLICIES.TXT 2 1234.5K 15-Nov-94 Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures *INV format example* POLICIES.TXT 2 123K Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures The BROwse and DIRectory commands will continue to always show the file size in bytes. The LIST and INV commands will now display sizes as b for bytes, K for kilobytes, or M for megabytes depending on the file's size. Command File size Format Examples ------- --------- --------- --------------- BRO all bytes Bytes:123456789 DIR all bytes Bytes:123456789 LIST 1 - 9999 bytes 1234b 10K - 9999K Kilobytes 1234.5K 10M - 999M Megs 123.3M INV 1-999 bytes 999b 1K-999K Kilobytes 999K 1M-999M Megs 999M Members who are using automated programs (such as TapCIS, OzCIS, and AutoSig) will need to update their software to properly view the new formats. Contact the software's authors to find out what versions you need and how to upgrade. III. NEW UPLOAD PROMPT ---------------------- With this new version of forum software, new copyright information will be displayed when members upload files. Members will now be asked to type "agree" to state that they have authorization to distribute the file they are uploading. The new copyright notice will read: Copyrighted information must not be placed on the Service without the permission of the owner or persons specifically authorized to grant this permission. You must either have the right to use and distribute information of another, or have created the Information and be the owner of it to be assured that your upload does not violate copyright and other applicable laws. By proceeding with an upload you represent and agree that you are the owner of it, or are acting with the specific permission of the owner or other person authorized to grant these rights. Do you Agree? (AGREE/<CR>) Members who use terminal emulation programs or automated programs will begin seeing this new information immediately, and members who use automated programs (such as TapCIS, OzCIS, or AutoSIG) will need to upgrade to a new version of software to upload files. Contact the software's authors to find out what versions you need and how to upgrade. Members using programs such as the CompuServe Information Manager, CSNav, or some versions of OzWIN will be including the new copyright information and the agree prompt in their next versions. Contact the authors to find out when the next versions will be released with this copyright information. This change will not affect members' ability to use automated programs to schedule an upload while not connected to CompuServe. The new programs will include this prompt at the time members enter in all the rest of the upload information in their updated versions; members will not have to be at the keyboard at the time of the upload. IV. MAIL FROM FORUMS --------------------- The upcoming forum software that's bringing 8.3 filenames and contributor names to the libraries is also going to include some changes to charges for forum messages that are sent via mail. The method of charging for mail and forwarded messages from forums will change. This is the new way that forwarded, composed, or scrolled messages are charged: Cost of Scroll Compose Forum to Mail to Mail -------- ------- ------- Basic/Free No mail charge *Postage Due Extended Service/ Postage due if No mail charge Connect >7 days old Charge * Mail sent from free forums by members with sponsored accounts or free flags will always arrive free in members' mailboxes, in both free and extended forums. MESSAGES THAT SCROLL TO MAIL When the oldest message in a forum is about to be deleted to make room for new messages and the addressee of the message has not read it yet, some forums will send a copy of that message to the recipient's mailbox. Messages will always scroll to mail free of charge from free forums. In an Extended Service (connect time charged) forum, if the scrolling message is seven days old or less, it will arrive in the member's mailbox free of charge. If the message has been in the forum for more than seven days, it will be sent to the member postage due. Also, the subject line of the mail message will now be the same as the subject that the message had in the forum. Currently, the mail's subject is "Message scrolled from XX Forum," which frequently caused confusion when members replied to the mail without changing the subject. The text of the message will continue to begin with "This message has scrolled to you from the XX Forum," and the full header of the message will be included in the text of the message. The first line of the header will be indented one space in the message to prevent the number sign (#) from confusing automated programs. COMPOSING/SENDING A MESSAGE VIA MAIL FROM A FORUM Mail sent from free forums will arrive postage due. When members choose to send a CompuServe Mail message from an Extended Service forum, the mail will arrive free of charge. Mail sent by a member with a sponsored account or a free flag in a forum will always arrive in the recipient's mailbox free of charge. copyright CompuServe Incorporated, March, 1995.
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