Subj : Re: can someone help ple
To   : Jimmy Day
From : Dale Shipp
Date : Fri Sep 27 2002 04:11 pm

 -=> On 09-26-02  21:50, Jimmy Day <=-
 -=> spoke to All about can someone help please? <=-

 JD> I am a sort of newbie here, to BBS, that is, and I have

   So was everyone, once.

 JD> 1)  What is the difference between QWK and BW mail packets?

  There are specifications available, but I doubt that you wanted that.
  QWK packets can be read by all OLRs, and is essentially the common
  standard.   BW packets are created for the BlueWave reader and allows
  for a few additional things (e.g. longer subject lines).   But only
  Bluewave and other clones can read that format.

 JD> 2)  The BBS has a Blue Wave mail door, it downloads in ZIP format - so
 JD> what happened to QWK and BW files?

   Zip is a method of compression -- and can be (but is not always) the
   method of choice for compressing either QWK or BW format files.

 JD> 3)  Some packets give the error "control.dat not found" - tried on 4
 JD> different OLRs, and PKUNZIP -t shows that there is indeed NO
 JD> control.dat file. Looks like all the other files are there.  So why no
 JD> control.dat file?  Maybe someone could point me to an explanation of
 JD> the structure of these various file types?

  That might be a function of the mail door not to include it for some
  reason -- but I thought it was required.  If you really want the
  specifications for QWK and BW files, send me an email and I'll file
  attach them to you from my other computer.

 JD> 4)  Some packets also give unpack errors, CRC errors.  What's that
 JD> mean? 

   Means that either something went wrong in the packing or unpacking
   step, or perhaps that you are trying to unpack with a compression
   other than the one that was used to compress.   Some of the choices
   are ZIP, older ZIP (1.02), ARC, RAR -- and others.

 JD> 5)  As for reply packets - what's the difference between *.NEW and
 JD> *.REP? Maybe one goes with QWK and the other with BW?

   Exactly -- *.NEW with BW and *.REP with QWK.

                        dale (at) min (dot) net
                              (1:261/1466)



.... Shipwrecked on Hesperus in Columbia, Maryland. 14:44:00 27 Sep 2002
___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30

--- Maximus/2 3.01
 * Origin: Owl's Anchor (1:261/1466)

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