Subj : Re: Blam BBS List question
To   : The Godfather
From : Alpha
Date : Thu May 28 2020 08:18:54

 TG> The only challenge I've seen with any script that pulls from the
 TG> nodelist to a BBSlist is that the telnet ports are not usually listed
 TG> within a nodelist. So ... this takes, what, 50% of the BBS's and makes
 TG> them not able to be connected to via the displayed list if only the URl
 TG> is listed to the user. With my limited knowledge, I can't imagine an
 TG> easy way to do this for the Net Admin, or the person writing the script.
 TG> Wouldn't either the admin have to go in and add flags and port numbers
 TG> to each node and/or wouldn't the script have to search a range of ports
 TG> for the listed URL to discover the correct one, and then populate said
 TG> telnet port into the BBS list?  I may be wrong but from a "fresh set of
 TG> newbie eyes," to me a nodelist used as a BBS list to display to users is
 TG> currently useless to 50% of the BBS's who have abandoned port 23 and/or
 TG> a lot of work for the network admin (unless a script can acheive this
 TG> goal automatically with simply a URL or IP address...)

You're right. and I don't think the ftn spec is going to change for this use
case. 

If we were going to build a "source of truth" for what's needed for a BBSList
app, whether it's for someone creating a webring, embedded telnet browser app,
or even a BBS List script//door -- what minimum fields would it need to
contain? E.g. how would we expect users to search/sort/filter? And how can
the list be automated: creation, management, etc.

Stuff like: 

- BBS Name
- Short description
- Physical location
- web URI
- telnet port
- ssh port
- sysop name
- Member networks
- date added
- active/inactive flag
- thumbnail image
- BBS Software Name

AAAAAND as I sit here writing this, I realize that this probably already
exists in principle in other places: web-based Telnet Guides, BBS List mods,
etc. LOL


 |14Þ  |07Alpha                
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