
                                  ECHOLIST
                        The Echomail Conference List
                                 ELIST FAQ
1 October 2000                                             ELFAQ010.TXT
|| Notes new or modified information

The Echobase Echolist Robot
echolist 1:1/21    elistin@fido261.qis.net
The Echolist Keeper
||Thom LaCosta 1:261/1550     baltimoremd@baltimoremd.com
March 1, 2000

  The echolist is copywritten by Thom LaCosta.

   ||The Echolist Robot is maintained by Thom LaCosta(1:261/1550,
   baltimoremd@baltimoremd.com).

   The Robot is listed in the Fido Nodelist as Echolist 1:1/21

THIRD PARTY UPDATES
    Moderators wishing to use the service of third parties to submit
    MOD UPD, MOD DEL and MOD RULE messages must notify the Echolist
    Keeper of their intention to use third parties.  The Echolist
    Keeper may hold update messages from third parties if there is
    no confirmation message from the moderator.

RULES FILES VIA INTERNET
    Rules files may be submitted to the Echolist Robot either as a standard
    MOD RUL message or, in the case of very large rules files, they may be
    sent to rulesin@fido261.qis.net.  If the later method is used, the
    second line of the message must specify the name of the rules file
    as it it listed in the MOD UPD message.  Rules files submitted in this
    manner will NOT generate a confirmation message to the submitter.

MULTIPLE ADDITIONS
    A new version of the Echolist Robot software has eleiminated the
    previous problem with multiple add messages causing inaccurate listings.

NEW WEB SITE
    The echolist web site has been moved to:
    http://www.baltimoremd.com/echolist/
    Visitors to previous sites are redirected to the address above

WEB SITE ADDITIONS
    Visitors to the Echolist web site can now submit MOD UPD, MOD DEL,
    MOD RUL and ECHO QUERY messages to the echolist robot via a
    convenient form.

GROUP Keyword
    The GROUP keyword may be used to identify which Fido Zone or Network
    the moderator wishes.  For FidoNet the group keywords may be used
    as follows:
    ||FID1 - Zone 1       FID2 - Zone 2       FID3 - Zone 3
    ||FID4 - Zone 4       FID5 - Zone 5       FID6 - Zone 6

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
    The echolist Robot now uses elistin@fido261.qis.net for submissions
    and queries.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
    In some instances the echolist robot does NOT process multiple messages
    from the same moderator correctly.  It is STRONGLY suggested  that
    moderators send a MOD QUERY message to the robot to ascertain the
    correctness of their listing(s).

FAULTY SUBMISSIONS
    Please insure that there are NO extra spaces or tabs between the
    keyword and the text in your submission messages.  The robot will
    NOT process them.

ECHOLIST Area
    The ECHOLIST echo is now a Read-Only Area.  It is reserved for
    announcements from the Robot or the Echolist Keeper.  Discussions and
    questions can be posted in the ELIST echo.

MAY ECHOLIST
    The May, 1999 Echolist contains information that covers March, 1999
    through May 3, 1999.  Information for that time period is included
    due to the late publication of the April Echolist.


APRIL ECHOLIST
    The April Echolist publication date was delayed due to a technical
    problem caused by the ISP used for the gateway at 1:261/1352

RULES SUBMISSIONS VIA EMAIL
    Some rules files submitted via email exceed the limits of the gateway
    in use at 1:261/1352.  Moderators may submit rules files via email to
    rulesin@fido261.qis.net.  These submissions will be manually processed
    by the Elist Keeper.

FEBRUARY ECHOLIST
    The February Echolist publication date was delayed due to a technical
    problem caused by the large(over 400) number of entries that were
    purged from the system based on expiration dates.  The problem
    required a re-write of the Echobase software, with numerous tests
    by the author and the Echolist Keeper to insure that the new version
    was operating correctly.

    With the February Echolist, a new file, ELBURN.TXT has been created.
    The file lists echoes that were deleted from the database by the
    robot, based on non-reception of a MODerator UPDate message for
    the echo.

ECHOLIST CONTENT
    The echolist is designed to publish current information relative
    to echo conferences as provided by moderators.  Moderators are urged    to
    submit information for inclusion in the Echolist Database.  The intent of
    the Echolist is to provide information submitted by moderators about echoes
    for which they have responsibility.

EXPIRATION WARNING MESSAGES
    Expiration Warning messages are generated on a monthly basis.  They
    are netmailed to the address shown for the moderator if the last
    updated field in the database is 150 or more days older than the
    system date when the function is invoked.  A list of conferences
    for which warning messages have been generated is posted in the
    Fido ECHOLIST and ELIST echoes, and such other echoes as the ELIST
    Keeper feels will provide wide coverage.

   The following information details changes to the echobase software and
   other items of interest to Echolist users.

MESSAGE REJECTION
   The reasons for rejection of update messages are listed below, with
   the most common appearing first:

   1. Incorrect Abbreviations - While most abbreviations used with the
   Echolist Robot are accepted, the major difference is the
   TITLE of the echo.  The Echobase Robot expects an abbreviation of
   TITL, rather than TIT .

   2. Insufficient information -
   TAG, TITLe,
   MODerator,
   MODerator Address,
   PASSword and DESC are the minimum requirements.

   3. Incorrect address for Robot - ECHOLIST, ECHOBASE are the only
      "names" that the Echobase Robot recognizes at 1:1/21

NON FIDO(OTHERNETS SUBMISSIONS)
    The Echobase Robot accepts submissions from non-Fido addressed
    moderators.  The response messages are placed on hold at
    1:261/1352  Messages on hold will be held for a maximum of 2
    weeks.  Moderators from Othernets are responsible for polling
    to get their confirmation messages.

SUBMISSIONS VIA EMAIL
    The Echobase Robot and a companion application authored by
    Thom LaCosta process incoming email messages sent to
    elistin@fido261.qis.net, a gateway system hosted by 1:261/1352

    The email messages should be in the form of a netmail submitted
    message, with the requirement that the first line of the
    email text body contains
    FROM the_email_address
    TAG  the echotag
    The remainder of the lines can be in any order.

    A sample submission message is included in ECHOBASE.HLP

ANNOUNCEMENTS
    Echo announcements from the Echobase Robot are presently posted
    in the ECHOLIST echo.  Discussions pertaining to the Echolist
    and the software in use may be made in ELIST.

SUBMISSION TOOL
    A companion application, designed to assist in automating moderator
    submissions to the Echolist Robot at 1:1/21, and other robots using
    the same submission criteria is available for File Request at
    1:261/1352 with the magic name of ECHOMOD.
    The file can also be acquired via the World Wide Web.

WORLD WIDE WEB
    A webpage specializing in the Robot and associated matters may be
    accessed at http://www.baltimoremd.com/echolist/
    Visitors may download EMOD331.ZIP, ECHOHELP.ZIP and view sample
    Echolists in HTML format, a sample .na file, and view a help file
    designed for moderators wishing to make submissions to the
    Echobase Robot.  The web page is updated with each publication of
    the Echolist.

HELP FILES
    The moderator help file for the Echobase Robot can be File Requested
    from 1:261/1352 with the magic name of ECHOHELP and the file name
    of ECHOHELP.ZIP.  The file is identical to the documentation file
    contained in ECHOMOD submission tool.  For the convenience of
    moderators, the help file is included in the distribution of
    the Echolist.

QUESTIONS
    Questions about the echolist, echotags, lost passwords, missing
    moderators and disputes should be addressed to the Echolist Keeper,
    Thom LaCosta  1:261/1550 or via email to baltimoremd@baltimoremd.com

   On July 15 and July 16, echo information that was NOT submitted by
   moderators was imported into the echobase database from the previous
   Zone 1 Echolist.

   In January, 1999 these imported echo tags which had not been updated
   were purged from the database.

Thom LaCosta 1:261/1550
baltimoremd@baltimoremd.com
