

        Quite often, I'm asked by new sysops for help in setting up their
 new TriBBS system. Working with New sysops can be fun, and at other times,
 it can drive us crazy. In this series of articles, we are going to set up
 and imaginary BBS, Create ANSI screens to make it look nice, and add a
 few doors and utilities to make a well rounded BBS that will surely draw
 some local callers.

        This first installment will look at what I consider the "Top Ten"
 utilities to get you up and running. Some may not agree on these utilities,
 but it is my opinion that they are the best combination of ease, price and
 funtionability.

        So, lets set our BBS up, and get ready for our first callers.


        For ease of use, I'm going to assume that you've run the Install
 program and have TriBBS set up and running. We have a name, lets say the
 Cyberpunk BBS (cute huh) and we are ready to add something that gives our
 board a little individuality. TriBBS right out of the box is fine, but no
 one really wants to look like everyone else, so many of the utilities we
 are going to look at either enhance present TriBBS features, or add new
 functions to it.

        Lets list these utilities up front, then we will go through each
 one and see what it does.

                   Top Ten New Sysop Utilities for TriBBS

 (in no particular order)

        PKZIP 204G
        DSZ OR GSZ
        TRIMAIL 11.1
        THE DRAW 4.61
        DIRECTORY LISTER 5.4
        MESSAGE LISTER 3.3
        TRIBBS TIME BANK 10.0
        TRIBBS MASTER LISTER 10.0
        POST - A - NOTE 2.0
        MCAFEE VIRUS SCAN

        Ok, so how many of you disagree with me <G> Well, disagreements
 aside, lets look at what each one of these programs can do for the
 CyberPunk BBS.

        First on the list is PKWares PKZIP ver 204g. If you've gotten
 TriBBS set up, chances are that you know what this utility does. But
 it has uses during the running of your BBS as well. TriBBS allows you
 to check any file that is uploaded to your BBS. Odds are, that if anyone
 uploads to you (and not many do these days) it will be archived with this
 software. You will need this program to be in your path, so that the
 upload testing feature of TriBBS will be able to unarchive the uploaded
 program, and test it to ensure that the archive uploaded with no problems.
 The upload testing feature will also use the Virus Scan Program, which we
 will discuss later in this article.

        PKZip has a registration cost of $47.00, and while many sysops do
 not register this program, the documentation does state that if you use
 the program, you are required to register.

        Our next program is more of an "Enhancement" for the CyberPunk BBS.
 TriBBS out of the box come with X, Y, and Zmodem file transfer protocols.
 And while these are fine protocols, Omen Technologies produces a suite of
 Protocols that have long been considered the standard all others look up
 to.

        DSZ and GSZ are basically the same programs, except that GSZ has
 a graphical screen that will show you the progress of your transfer in
 graphical terms (DSZ shows you with a %, GSZ with a transfer bar) Both
 programs are the same protocol engine, and offer ZModem, MobyTurbo Zmodem
 (called by Omen Zmodem-90), Ymodem, Ymodem-G, Xmodem, and Xmodem CRC. Not
 all these protocols are available to the unregistered version. MobyTurbo
 and Ymodem-G are only enabled after registration. But don't let this
 scare you off. DSZ/GSZ is by far the best and most reliable protocol
 engine on the market registered or not.

        Setting DSZ/GSZ is allot easier than it looks. Included in this
 edition of the Ezine is an article that will show you how to do this,
 as well as several other Protocols on the market. Take a look and get
 it set up today.

        DSZ/GSZ registration is reasonable. DSZ alone (the non-graphical
 version) is $20, and GSZ is $30 (When you register GSZ, you get DSZ for
 free!!)  Of course, there is one other option. If you have a friend, or
 a user who wishes to register either, you can send in a form included in
 the archive and receive a free registration for your BBS. Please note
 though, there are some pre-conditions to doing this.

        Ok, so now we have given The CyberPunk BBS the ability to transfer
 files, and to at least check the archives to ensure they are whole, now
 lets offer our users a way to cut their time online, so other will be able
 to log on.

        Reading mail online can take a long time. Especially if you offer
 one or more of the many networks around the country (more on Message
 Networks in a later article, I don't want to get ahead of myself) Anyway,
 no one wishes to spend their whole time online reading mail. There is just
 so many other things available to do, and they all compete for time. Allowing
 your readers to download their mail, to read in one of the many offline
 reader programs offers them (and you) a way to save time (and allow other
 callers to get online) TriBBS has a door specifically designed to do this,
 TriMail 11.1 (latest version) What TriMail does is make available all your
 message conferences to your user, to pick, and create QWK mail packets.
 These packets are downloaded, and read in an offline mail reader (TriQWK,
 Silly Little Mail Reader, Speed Reader, or any of dozen others) Once a
 user has read their mail, and made their replies, TriMail allows them to
 upload their .REP (reply) packets, and puts the mail in the correct message
 areas. It sounds complicated, but the setup of TriMail takes 5 minutes
 and is a MUST for any BBS. TriMail is FREE to registered TriBBS Sysops.

        While the screens for TriBBS are functional, lets face it, they
 are pretty boring. A little spice needs to be added if we are to expect
 callers to continue calling, or to subscribe to our BBS. For this, we need
 a program called The Draw. The Draw is the standard for ANSI drawing
 programs. Setup and use could not be easier. Drawing your screens is easy,
 getting them to fit and work on TriBBS can sometimes take a little time.
 Just follow the directions for naming your screens that are in the TriBBS
 Docs, and start playing. The only real suggestions I can give you is to
 play around, and look at some of the screens that others have done. Creating
 screens for your BBS can be very personal, and it is something that can
 take a lot of your time. These screens are going to be the first things
 a caller will see when they log on, and you know what folks say about
 first impressions. Plan to spend some time, and a little imagination when
 doing your screens.

        I can't swear to the latest version of The Draw, although the
 latest version I have is 4.61. I also do not know for sure if registrations
 are still being taken, but the cost is $20.00

        The next two utilities kinda go together. And truthfully, there are
 several of these "types" of programs out there for TriBBS. I have chosen
 these two as they are written by Gary Price Himself, and they offer a
 good choice of options to "customize" your screens.

        These programs are DIRLST (for your list of File Directories) and
 MSGLIST (for a list of your Conference Areas) Both allow you to choose
 how you wish to display your list (how many columns), The security level,
 Create a Header for your list, and choose the colors of the Header,
 description and Names. As you can see, the combinations are many, and
 you can choose colors and a look that will fit in with the rest of your
 BBS.

        These programs are both shareware, and have a short reminder screen
 before you shut down the program. Both DIRLST and MSGLST cost $10 to
 register.


        Randy Hunt was TriBBS's First Third Party Programer and created
 many great utilities. But, I'm not sure if Randy still accepts registrations
 for his programs or not. I do know though that his BBS is no longer online
 as he had other commitments. (Work, school ...) Either Way, I still
 highly suggest his programs, and have included 2 of them in this top ten
 list.

        The first is the TriBBS Time Bank. TriBank is a very simple Time
 Bank that allows your users to deposit time, as well as withdraw it.
 TriBank will not allow users though to withdraw time that would allow
 them to say online during a scheduled event. While not flashy like many
 of the Banks that have come since, TriBank has always been a solid program
 for me and I highly suggest it. TriBank is also so easy to set up, that
 even the most computer iliterite of us should be able to set it up.

        The Next Randy Hunt utility is also a must need for any BBS.
 If you carry any files at all, you can save your users tons of time
 online by providing a Master File list for them to download, and look
 at offline. The TriBBS Master File Lister was the first of these, and
 is still one (if not the) best available. It will allow you the ability
 to choose the file area's that are included in the list (or to create
 multiple list using multiple config files) It can be run in an event,
 and using a simple batch file, and pkzip, you can add a ziped file
 list to your board nightly of every file on your board.

        If Randy Still accepts registrations, you can register each
 one of these programs for $10 each.

        Some users, no matter what you do, will not read the mail. It
 seems that some folks just don't want to waste precious file leaching
 time, or door playing to read what you've got to say. Post a Note will
 help you catch these users, and make them see a note that they've got
 to see.

        Post A Note will allow you, and your users, to send a short 15
 line note, to up to 20 Users that will be displayed to them at logon.
 This can be real handy when you have some door programs that play in
 turns. Once a user has finished their turn, they can leave a note to
 the next player that it is their turn. You can also use it to let users
 know you've upgraded, or downgraded their security, or to let only
 certain users know of a new feature. A nice edition to Post A Note is
 that it has its own user index that will allow you users to find a user
 using only partial names. You may set it up to use Real Names or Aliases.

        Post A Note is written by Gary himself, and has a registration
 cost of $10.

        Last but not least for this article is McAfee's Virus Scan for
 DOS. Even if you don't have a BBS, you should have this, or one of the
 other McAfee Scanners available to you. While no scanner can provide
 100% protection, McAfee has always been at the top of the market and
 is highly recommended.

        TriBBS has an option that allows you to scan all uploaded files
 to your BBS to check for the integrity of the program (PKZIP) and for
 Viruses (Virus Scan) No one, and I mean NO ONE should accept files
 uploaded to their BBS without checking them out. While there are several
 programs out there that will enhance your ability to check these files,
 we will not get into them now. TriBBS's internal routines to do this
 will work just fine for the normal BBS Sysop.

        McAfee's Virus Scan for DOS is shareware, and has a registration
 fee of $65. If you get no other program listed here, get this one. For
 what it can save you, it is more than worth the cost.

        Thats it for our Top Ten. There are other utilities that will do
 many of the functions that these programs do, but this list includes the
 ones I've found to work well, be reasonable in price, and easy to setup.
 In future editions of the Ezine, we will look at other things we can do
 for our BBS. This include setting up our board for FIDO mail, getting
 involved with both QWK and FIDO style Networks. Adding Door Games, as
 well as publishing our BBS and getting folks to call back.

        If you have any suggestions or comments about his article, or
 ideas for upcoming articles, please, drop me a line. You can reach me
 on FIDO's TRIBBS Echo, WME's TRIBBS Echo, Via NetMail at 1:371/32 or
 via email at steve@psyduck.com.



