| LAST UPDATES: 2010: 6/21 3/08 1/17 | 2009: 10/02 | 2008: 9/27 5/15 | | Addendum and errata added by PINACOLADA, sym_rsherwood@yahoo.com | | Additional sections and information, or changes from the original | manual are prefaced with this neat line on the left. | [short side notes/alien abduction anecdotes go in square brackets] | | Notes (2/ 4/2008): | | * If viewed on a non-Commodore platform, use a monospace font such as | Courier. | * This file contains tab characters, and uses form feeds to paginate | the document. Please use a text editor which understands those | entities. | | Fixes (1/12/2008): | | * Changed LOTS of commas to periods, fixed typos, better writing: | "system" -> "BBS" (usually) * gender-neutral wording | "will be" -> "is"/"are" * other picky things | * Indented left margin 8 spaces for those who like ring-bound | printouts (c'est moi!). | * Added index line leaders. I'll make page numbers match up with 66- | line printouts someday. Removed some extra page numbers. | * Two spaces after a period -- 'cept in between "Lt. Kernal." :) | * Bulleted lists get indented two spaces, plus hanging indents. | * Inserted page headers and page numbers, line and page breaks. | * Put commands in index to cut down on page-flipping. | * 1.2A manual additions, incorporating TurboREL/Networking docs. | | INTRODUCTION | In 2007, Dave "Metal Mage" Hartman and I found ourselves pondering why | there wasn't an updated version of the manual available to go along | with all the fixes and updates which had come out since Image 1.2a was | released. To get all "the good stuff" (as we call it) required | reading even MORE documentation, merging "mods" into core BBS files | (sometimes needing to start over with stock files, trumping any mods | the sysop had already made), or setting up an altar to Fred Dart. | | (Believe me, I thought about it. For those of you not in the know, he | was one of the best Image programmers around; sadly, he's gone on to | that great BBS in the sky, where there surely must be an active user | base of a few billion people. At least he can party on with Ron Fick, | a Lt. Kernal guru, and Jim Butterfield... Imagine: Q-Link, with no plus | charges... oh, wait. Another Jim B.'s been there, done that. :) | | Metal Mage and I decided this simply wouldn't do; it's a horrible | new sysop experience. We hacked together what we called "Image 1.2B" | which had what we considered to be the best new changes already put in. | For example: There were a few things changed by Bob "Iron Axe" Sisco | with his "Year 2000" fix which I changed back for aesthetic reasons. | Overall, we figure we've got it mostly licked. | | Expanded coverage, reorganized sections, documentation of new (at the | time) features which were once available as separate add-on disks (some | slated for version 1.3): a few games and BBS utilities, "AutoWeed," | the "Extended Command Set," "TurboREL" sub-boards, "RELedit," Image BBS | networking (sadly, I never got networked, except as a small test with | Metal Mage) and a re-vamped message base system. Web links to the | "new" (released long after the original manual was completed) Image BBS | programmer's reference guide, a list of every Image BBS "mod" and add- | on I possess (including games), a wish list, and much, much more await | you in these pages. | | Please note that I've tried to introduce each new section in a sensible | way, but if you don't understand something because it hasn't been | explained yet, or it's unclear -- that's a sign of bad documentation. | Let me know about it; I'll have myself flogged (let me start the | noodles cooking). Having previous experience with the software, I've | tried not to fall into the trap of "it's obvious to ME, not necessarily | everyone else." And while I do try to define possibly unfamiliar | terms, you won't find a glossary with "upload" and "download" in it, at | least not here. Already being familiar with BBS basics (perhaps having | called an Image BBS as a user before?) is extremely helpful. However, | don't let my pseudo-gruffness stop you from contacting me if you run | into something you don't understand! | | 99% of the following work is either the New Image crew, Joe Commodore, | or someone else. I just ran it all through a blender, baked until | golden brown, et voila! It *must* be true: Anyone can cook. | | Many thanks go to Larry "Joe Commodore" Anderson for OCR'ing the 1.0 | manual plus the updates! Also to Rascal, Iron Axe, Metal Mage, Fred | Kreuger, and anyone else I forgot. | | I just want this to be the bestest, most comprehensive manual | available, given all the great fixes that have come out since the | first version came out. Who knows, maybe you've got the next hot | modification or suggestion -- or an answer to some burning Image BBS | question which kept me up nights. | | SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING | By no means must you read through this documentation in one sitting, | or a day, or a week. Take it in bite-sized (byte-sized?) chunks; I | sure remember the intimidation I felt when I saw the original manual... | Just take a deep breath, have some milk and cookies, and come back to | it later. Scribble stuff in the margins. Tune in, turn on, boot up! | | BLATANT BEGGING (ON HANDS AND KNEES EVEN) | Also, I would like to collect any information about Image BBS you or | your friends and colleagues have. Back in the 1990's there were | HUNDREDS of Image sysops -- they can't all have died YET. :) Any plus | files, programming information, "Reflections" or NISSA (New Image Sysop | Support Association) e-zines you've got -- in short, ANYTHING IMAGE- | RELATED -- forward it to me. My goal is to revive Image BBS and its | network, to re-kindle the feelings of anticipation when there was a | new plus file or modification to download. A brand new sysop disk | magazine would fix that in a jiffy! I am working with Dave Moorman | (of LoadStar) and his "DotBASIC" programming package to design one | similar to LoadStar's "Presenter." Check DotBASIC out: | | <http://8bitcentral.com/dotbasic/> | | Anyway, drop me a line -- I want to hear from you! plzkthx. | | PinaDox(tm & pat. pend. -- I've never patted a pend. before but I'm | willing to try anything): The only user-friendly documentation with a | built-in sense of humor. Dear Reader: Here it is, the much-needed documentation of Image 1.2a BBS. This is an OCR of the original documentation, which included the Image 1.0 manual and addendum sheets for Image 1.1 and 1.2. If you are setting up 1.2, make sure to read the 1.2 addendum as well as the 1.0 manual. Notes: * I have indicated the original document's page breaks to make finding sections with the table of contents or index easier. * If you are setting up Image, use the 1.0 diskette, and copy over the 1.2 files on to a copy of the 1.0 diskette (overwriting the outdated 1.0 files). | [Even better: Save yourself the hassle -- use Image 1.2B!] * There are special notes if you are using a Supra 2400 baud modem as well as using a CMD or Lt. Kernal hard drive. * The modification diskettes for TurboRELs and BBS-to-BBS networking contain their own install/usage documentation on the disk image. (Note: Using TurboREL message bases on a 1581 drive may be problematic; email me if you need more info on it.) [This is probably because of the "secondary address #1" bug. I have included a BASIC program, "81bug.bas" to demonstrate it, if you're interested. I need to get in touch with Larry to see whether this is in fact the cause.] * In its' time, Image BBS was one of the top-of-the line Commodore 64 BBS's, even compared to PC counterparts of the day. Image held its own in features and adaptability. * The BBS numbers in the following documentation are all long gone, please do not try calling them. Enjoy! Larry Anderson - Sysop - Silicon Realms BBS larry@portcommodore.com Package intro letter New Image Software P.O. Box 525 Salem, UT 84653 801-423-1966 Dear Customer and Friend: We thank you very much for ordering IMAGE BBS v1.0!! We think that you will be very happy with your purchase, and intend to fully support our customers in any way that we can. If you need any help whatsoever in setting up your BBS or maintaining it, please feel free to contact us by mail, phone, or BBS, and we will do what we can. This version was "supposed" to be released long ago, but due to problems in relocating our offices and other things, it is late. (Ever have 5,000 screaming sysops on YOUR phone line?!?) We apologize immensely for this, but feel that the quality of the program will make you forget about this very soon! Read the manual through and see the options that you have with this BBS program! Please also notice that we have added a few things that are not documented in the manual. The "L"ist function in the subs...
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