


        OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOO  OOOOOO  OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOO  OOOOOO  OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
        OO          OO  OO          OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO          OO
        OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OOOOOOOOOO
        OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO
        OO  OO  OO  OO  OO          OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO
        OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OOOOOOOOOO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OO  OOOOOOOOOO
        OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OOOOOOOOOO  OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO          OO
        OO  OOOOOO  OO  OO  OO          OO  OOOOOO  OO  OOOOOOOOOO  OO
        OO          OO  OO  OO          OO          OO          OO  OO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOO          OOOOOOOOOOOOOO          OO  OO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OOOOOO          OOOOOOOOOOOOOO          OO  OO
                                                                OO  OO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  OO
        oMMM                                                        OO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
        OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO





                    Opus Computer-Based Conversation System
                                 Version 1.73

            Copyright 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, Wynn Wagner III
                              All Rights Reserved

                      This version written by Doug Boone
              with William Beebe, Ulf Nilsson, Trev Roydhouse and
                                 John Valentyn






                            SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL

                            CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA

                               29 September 1991

                        Documentation by Trev Roydhouse

                Dedicated to Tom Jennings and Ward Christensen








                        Copyright 1991, Wynn Wagner III
                              All Rights Reserved


    Page 2                      OPUS-CBCS V1.73 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL 






                               TABLE OF CONTENTS



    1.0  INTRODUCTION ............................................ 3

    2.0  CONTROL FILE MACRO SUBSTITUTIONS ........................ 3

    3.0  ACTIVE QUESTIONNAIRES ................................... 3

    4.0  FILES DATABASE FILE DESCRIPTIONS ........................ 4

    5.0  TIME ZONE SETTINGS ...................................... 4

    6.0  CONFIGURING A BOSSNODE .................................. 4

    7.0  CONFIGURING A POINT SYSTEM .............................. 5

    8.0  UUCP SUPPORT ............................................ 6

    9.0  NAME FILTER FILE FORMAT ................................. 6

    10.0 FREE FILES .............................................. 7

    11.0 FILE COMPRESSORS SUPPORTED BY OPUS ...................... 7

    12.0 AUTOANSWER MODEM CONFIGURATION .......................... 7

    13.0 BUGS? ................................................... 7

    14.0 SHARING VIOLATIONS ...................................... 8

    15.0 EDITING AN ALREADY ENTERED MESSAGE ...................... 8

    16.0 EFFECT OF INMAIL##.$$$ ON OPUS BEHAVIOUR ................ 8

    17.0 SELECTING TASK NUMBERS .................................. 8

    18.0 OPUS 1.70 LAST SECOND FEATURE ........................... 9

    APPENDIX A: CROSS-LISTING OF CORRECTIONS ..................... 10
     
     
    CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA                                       Page 3 
     
     

                               +--------------------------------------+
                               |  "A foolish consistency is the       |
                               |   hobgoblin of little minds ..."     |
                               |                                      |
                               |             Ralph Waldo Emerson      |
                               +--------------------------------------+


    1.0 INTRODUCTION

    This document does not take the place of the 200 page OPUS 1.70 SYSOP
    OPERATIONS MANUAL. The following paragraphs detail corrections and
    additions to that manual which was released on 14 July 1991. These
    corrections and additions correct mistakes in the original
    documentation, further (better) explain some items, and take into
    account items which have changed in the subsequent Opus 1.70
    maintenance releases.

    Consult the table of contents to this document for a full topical
    listing. Appendix A contains a cross-listing by page number to topics
    in the OPUS 1.70 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL which are modified by this
    document. Appendix A is therefore not exhaustive because some new
    items are not included in the original Sysop Operations Manual.



    2.0 CONTROL FILE MACRO SUBSTITUTIONS

    Refer to page 35, paragraph 3.1.6 of the original manual. NACL will
    issue an error message similar to the following:

    MENUS.CTL(123): error A5003: Macro symbol not defined (TITPRV)

    if you use a macro symbol which is longer than 5 characters. The macro
    symbol in the above example TITPRV could be shortened to TPRIV or
    TITPR and NACL will not complain.



    3.0 ACTIVE QUESTIONNAIRES

    Refer to page 45, paragraph 3.4.3 of the original manual. The example
    of an active questionnaire should be replaced with the following:

    00   ^K
    01   ^PNT
    02   ^PNX
    03   ^OOc:\opus\misc\tennis
    04   ^OP
    05   ^F^F, are you a tennis fanatic? (y,N) ^ORYN|
    06   ^OMFanatic
    07   ^OUN ^OQ
    08   ^OU| ^OQ
    09   ^OUY You are!  Prove it ...


    Page 4                      OPUS-CBCS V1.73 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL 


    10   ^OUY
    11   ^OUY The year of the first Australian Davis Cup win was:
    12   ^OUY a. 1900     b. 1939     c. 1942      d. 1946
    13   ^ORABCD|
    14   ^OMAnswer
    15   ^OUB
    16   ^OUB Correct!  You will now have access to the Tennis
    17   ^OUB EchoMail message area. Type 40 or DEUCE at the
    18   ^OUB Message Menu Change Area prompt.
    19   ^OUB ^PAT ^OQ
    20
    21   Wrong!
    22   ^PAX ^OQ


    Line 01 in the original documentation is incorrect, but the
    description of line 01 on page 46 of the original manual is correct.
    Line 02 (as above) is missing altogether.



    4.0 FILES DATABASE FILE DESCRIPTIONS

    Refer to page 55, paragraph 3.7.1 of the original manual. The files
    database will in fact store file descriptions which are up to 512
    characters long (not 256 characters as stated).



    5.0 TIME ZONE SETTINGS

    Refer to page 72, paragraph 3.13 of the original manual. The correct
    time zone settings for the Yukon, Alaska and Bering are as follows:

    Yukon........................ SET  TZ=YST08
    Alaska....................... SET  TZ=AST09
    Bering....................... SET  TZ=BST10

    If you know of any additional time zone settings which do not appear
    in the Opus documentation, please send them to me at 3:711/501.


    6.0 CONFIGURING A BOSSNODE

    Refer to page 134, paragraph 7.4 of the original manual. The following
    should clarify the configuration of an Opus BossNode system. In this
    example, the FidoNet address of the BossNode is 3:711/409 and the
    PointNet number is 30141.

    The Matrix Section of your Opus control file (BBS.CTL) should include:

     
     
    CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA                                       Page 5 
     
     
         % Matrix Section
         %
         Address 3:711/409.0    % The FidoNet address MUST be first
         Address 3:30141/0.0    % The Point address MUST be second
         %
         Pointnet 30141         % The PoinNet number
         %


    To successfully SCAN echomail conference messages to the point with
    the address 3:30141/1, the EchoMail message area definition in the
    Opus control file should include:

         % EchoMail Message Area Definition
         SCAN 30141/1                     % BossNode's PointNet address
         %


    The above configuration generates message origin, seenby and path
    lines as follows:

         --- Opus-CBCS 1.72a
         * Origin: Opus WOCket Test Site, NSW, Oz (3:711/409.0)
         SEEN-BY: 711/409 30141/0 1
         ^APATH: 711/409

    Opus 1.72 onwards puts the BossNode's FidoNet address in the SEEN-BY
    line too just like QMail. Doug did this because everyone assumes QMail
    does everything "right". In theory, only the BossNode's and the
    Point's PointNet addresses should be required.



    7.0 CONFIGURING A POINT SYSTEM

    Refer to page 135, paragraph 7.5 of the original manual. The following
    should clarify the configuration of an Opus Point system. In this
    example, the FidoNet address of the BossNode is 3:711/409 and the
    address of the Point system is 3:30141/1.

    The Matrix Section of your Opus control file (BBS.CTL) should include
    the following:

         % Matrix Section
         Address 3:30141/1.0     % The PointNet address MUST be first
         Address 3:711/409.1     % The FidoNet address MUST be second
         %
         BossNode 711/409        % The BossNode
         %


    To successfully SCAN echomail conference messages to the BossNode with
    the address 3:30141/0, the EchoMail message area definition in the
    Opus control file should include:



    Page 6                      OPUS-CBCS V1.73 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL 


         % EchoMail Message Area Definition
         Address 3:30141/1.0                    % Point's PointNet address
         Origin PointEcho ... Echo ... Echo ... % Custom Origin line
         SCAN 30141/0                           % Scan to BossNode
         %


    The above configuration generates message origin, seenby and path
    lines as follows:

         --- Opus-CBCS 1.72a
         * Origin: PointEcho ... Echo ... Echo ... (3:711/409.1)
         SEEN-BY: 30141/0 1
         ^APATH: 30141/1

    Opus will always include the BossNode's PointNet address (PointNet/0)
    in Point SEEN-BYs, whether NOALIAS is on or off. Points should be
    scanning to the BossNode's PointNet address.



    8.0 UUCP SUPPORT

    Refer to page 137, paragraph 8.2 of the original manual. There is a
    slight error in the first paragraph which may cause some confusion
    regarding UUCP e-mail and UseNet. The line:

    "e-mail, which is the USENET equivalent to FidoNet netmail."

    should read:

    "e-mail, which is the Internet/Bitnet/Uunet/etc equivalent to FidoNet
    netmail."

    UseNet has no e-mail at all.



    9.0 NAME FILTER FILE FORMAT

    Refer to page 179, paragraph 11.4.2 of the original manual. The
    example used to demonstrate the use of the # character is unfortunate.
    It uses the word All. However, the given example of ?All# will of
    course prevent Joe Landall from logging on to the system because ?
    means that whatever follows should not appear in any form in a
    caller's name and is case insensitive as documented.

    To prevent All from logging on, but not prevent Joe Landall from
    logging on, use !All# instead. Opus honours the case of the characters
    following ! (ie it is case sensitive).



     
     
    CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA                                       Page 7 
     
     
    10.0 FREE FILES

    This is a clarification of the use of the FREE control file parameter
    in a file area definition. FREEness is associated with the specified
    file area not the file -- the user need not be in the FREE file area.

    However, if there are two entries for the same file in different file
    areas and one is in a FREE file area, but the other is not, AND the
    user is not in either area, the user will be debited with the download
    or not depending on which entry Opus finds first. Opus will usually
    find the entry associated with the lower file area number first.

    Similarly, if there are two file entries for the same file in
    different file areas, and one is in a FREE file area and the other is
    not, AND the user is in the other file area , the user will be debited
    with the download.



    11.0 FILE COMPRESSORS SUPPORTED BY OPUS

    Opus will spawn ARCE, PKUNZIP, ZOO, LHA, PAK or ARJ depending on
    the type of mail archive which it finds.

    The Opus file area CONTENTS command will also spawn the appropriate
    file compressor from the above list.



    12.0 AUTOANSWER MODEM CONFIGURATION

    When using the Opus autoanswer string to have Opus answer an incoming
    call instead of the modem, you need to have the modem NOT echo
    commands (use E0 in the modem init string to turn echo off). Otherwise
    you will experience this behaviour:

         > All works well except for when a remote caller calls
         > in. Using the AUTOANSWER mode, OPUS answers and then
         > immediately hangs up or gives an errorlevel exit.



    13.0 BUGS?

    I seem to have inadvertently left it out of the documentation, but
    Opus does not have any bugs. Sure, there may be a few mites, but bugs?
    The LCDs use nerf bats to squash any bugs before release. Subsequent
    minor Opus releases are maintenance releases, not bug fixes!
    Subsequent major Opus releases are feature releases!






    Page 8                      OPUS-CBCS V1.73 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL 


    14.0 SHARING VIOLATIONS

         > I am running two Opus nodes under DESQview, and I am
         > plagued with SHARE violation errors constantly.  There
         > seems to be some kind of problem with SHARE.  It thinks
         > that a file is open, when it is not (or shouldn't be).
         > This has happened with FILESBBS.DAT, NODELIST.DAT, and
         > some other "key" files.
         > The result is, one or both nodes will hang, with a
         > share error, waiting for me too hit a key to continue.


    1) STOP USING SHARE! It is brain-damaged, ugly, and its feet stink.

    2) Add '/F' to your Shell statement in CONFIG.SYS. This is DOS's
       'Fail' critical error switch.

    3) Use FATAL. Fatal is a TSR that traps critical errors, and takes
       DOS's recommended action ad infinitum. That is the only problem. If
       the file remains locked long after the task completes, Fatal will
       sit there R)etrying forever. However, it is the best solution for
       people who take out insurance policies before flying, wear
       seatbelts, and do tape backups.



    15.0 EDITING AN ALREADY ENTERED MESSAGE

    If you are the sysop ... eXport the message to a disk file and Kill
    the message. Use your LOCAL EDITOR <wordprocessor> (refer to page 71
    of the Opus 1.70 Technical Reference Manual) to edit a new message,
    import the old message into your wordprocessor, edit to your heart's
    content, then save the message.



    16.0 EFFECT OF INMAIL##.$$$ ON OPUS BEHAVIOUR

    If an INMAIL##.$$$ status file exists, other Opus tasks will not dial
    out, unpack mail or scan echomail.



    17.0 SELECTING TASK NUMBERS

    Opus requires a task number greater than zero for some features to
    work correctly (eg multi-line chat and leaving a message to the next
    caller). The safest thing to do is always use a task number greater
    than zero, even if you are only running a single line system.

    Future versions of Opus will probably require a task number greater
    than zero at all times.



     
     
    CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA                                       Page 9 
     
     
    18.0 OPUS 1.70 LAST SECOND FEATURE

    Opus has a lot of traditions about it. One of them is that new
    releases should always contain at least one undocumented feature.

    The undocumented feature for Opus 1.70 is command-line editing, that
    is, you can use the F1 and F3 keys just like you use them with DOS.
    Each press of F1 will copy one character from the last command line to
    the current command, F3 will copy the remainder of the last command.

    For systems that cannot transmit F1 and F3 over the modem, CONTROL-G
    and CONTROL-N can be used as alternatives.

    Probably the place where you and your users will find this most useful
    will be when trying to download a file fails because "File not found".
    Pressing F3 or ^N will redisplay the file name(s) you tried to
    download so you can just edit the relevant name(s) instead of having
    to retype them all from scratch.


    Page 10                      OPUS-CBCS V1.73 SYSOP OPERATIONS MANUAL 




                APPENDIX A: CROSS-LISTING OF CORRECTIONS



    Page number of the      Topic                              See Page
    original Opus Sysop
    Operations Manual


    35 .................... Control File Macro Substitutions ..... 3

    45 .................... Active Questionnaires ................ 3

    55 .................... Files Database File Descriptions ..... 4

    72 .................... Time Zone Settings ................... 4

    134 ................... Configuring a BossNode ............... 4

    135 ................... Configuring a Point System ........... 5

    137 ................... UUCP Support ......................... 6

    179 ................... Name Filter File Format .............. 6

