FIDO(tm) CALLERS MANUAL
(C)OPYRIGHT 1985 BY RICHARD LEVEY SYSOP FIDO 357
DISTRIBUTION LICENSE GRANTED TO ALL FIDO SYSOPS
The purpose of this manual is to provide all callers with a manual they are
capable of understanding and using frequently, when they call a Fido bbs.
Although Fido supports many different transfer protocols the average PClone
user is better off using the MiniTel program written by Tom Jennings for
his machine. While many different terminal programs can be used to call a
Fido, MiniTel the simplest full-function terminal program with which to
start. It is available in the PC-Comm file section.
Calling into a Fido
When you call into a Fido, the first thing you must do is set your terminal
software for the proper communications protocols, or as with any other BBS,
you will not get a good connection.
The recommended protocol is as follows:
Parity set to NONE. STOP Bits to 1. Word length to 8.
These settings have been used on many different software packages while
calling into Fido and they have always worked properly.
Connecting with a Fido
Assuming you have set the parameters correctly, and have dialed into your
favorite Fido, you should now have some indication that the modem has
connected.
As soon as a connection is established, you will see the first welcome
message. Most Fido's use a form of the picture of Fido, compliments of J.
Madill, a Fido sysop. At the end of the welcome screen, you will be able
to enter your first and last name for user verification.
The prompt is usually " your FIRST name: "
and
" your LAST name: "
You may string your entire name on the first line by simply seperating your
first and last name with a space.
What happens now depends on several items. If you are already in the user
list, you will be promted for your password to be entered. If for some
reason your password has become invalid since you last used it, try
entering it at least 4 times. If it is still not good, then you will be
given the chance to leave a message to the sysop. In this you should
explain you had a valid password, and now it does not seem to work any
more.
If this is the first time you have called the system, again several things
might occur depending on how the sysop has the system set up. I require
users to answer a short list of questions before they have full access to
my system. Other Sysops either run a fully open system or a closed system.
If a system is closed, you will usually be given a list of questions to
answer, and then advised when to call back to secure system access.
Main Menu
When you have finally gotten through the sign on procedure you will be
faced with the Main Menu. I have included here an actual Main Menu from my
system, and will document each command as we go along.
MAIN Commands:
M)sg-Section F)ile-Section G)oodbye
S)tatistics B)ulletin C)hange U)ser-List
E)ditorial V)ersion
Main: M F G S A B Y C U E V or ? for help:
and by typing a "?", you would now see the following screen appear:
M A I N S E C T I O N
+--------------------------------------+
| M ... Enter the MESSAGE SECTION |
| F ... Enter the FILES SECTION |
| B ... Read the Bulletin |
| E ... Read the Editorial |
| G ... Goodbye (Logoff) |
| S ... Statistics (time left, etc) |
| C ... Change Help Level, Name, Nulls |
| U ... List of Users |
| V ... Fido Version |
+--------------------------------------+
When you see a prompt such as M(sg-section, you merely type the "M" to
enter the message section, not the entire string "M(sg-section".
I think that most of the commands are now self explanatory with the
addition of the help screen. Most callers either are confused the first
time they see the main menu, or just are intimidated by it.
>>> YOU MUST HOWEVER UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING INFO <<<
NOT EVERY ITEM IN THE HELP SCREEN MAY APPEAR IN THE MENU. THE SYSOP HAS
THE OPTION OF INCLUDING ANY OR ALL OF THE ITEMS IN EACH USER ACCESS LEVEL.
SO EVEN IF THE V COMMAND APPEARS IN THE HELP MENU, IF IT IS NOT ON THE MAIN
MENU COMMAND LINE, THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THAT COMMAND.
Lets enter the message section first and see what we have in the way of
commands and options. Again I have included the actual message menu and
help screen from my system for you to inspect.
Msg Area #1: MESSAGE\
A)rea-Change L)ist R)ead E)nter K)ill I)ndex
S)tatistics G)oodbye M)ain-Menu
Msg: A L R E K I S G M or ? for help: ?
again, by typing a "?", you get the following help screen for your use.
M E S S A G E S E C T I O N
+--------------------------------------+
| A ... Select a MESSAGE AREA |
| M ... Return to MAIN SECTION |
| L ... List of Messages |
| R ... Read Messages |
| E ... Enter a New Message |
| K ... Kill (delete) a Message |
| I ... Search messages |
| S ... Statistics: List your Mail |
| G ... Goodbye (logoff) |
+--------------------------------------+
Msg Area #1: MESSAGE\
A)rea-Change L)ist R)ead E)nter K)ill I)ndex
S)tatistics G)oodbye M)ain-Menu
Msg: A L R E K I S G M or ? for help: A
BY SELECTING THE A FOR AREA CHANGE YOU WOULD SEE THE FOLLOWING MENU OF
AREAS YOU HAVE ACCESS TO.
----- Message Areas -----
1 ... Local Message Area
2 ... VanPort Echomail
10 ... * FidoNet Mail Area
Area Number, or Q)uit
At this point you would enter a message area number or Q to quit the
selection process. Again you must remember that not every command will be
available to you.
Now lets enter an M to return to the main menu.
Okay onward and upwards. Now lets go to the file area and inspect the menu
and the help screen.
File Area #4: IBMPC
A)rea-Change L)ocate F)iles T)ype G)oodbye
U)pload D)ownload S)tatistics M)ain-Menu
File: A L F T G U D S M R or ? for help: ?
Again, typing a "?" gives you the following help screen to guide you
through the menu.
F I L E S S E C T I O N
+--------------------------------------+
| A ... Change the FILE AREA |
| M ... Quit to MAIN SECTION |
| F ... List of Files |
| L ... Locate a File or Files |
| T ... Type (display) a File |
| D ... Download (to you) |
| U ... Upload a File or Files |
| S ... Statistics: Disk Space, etc |
| G ... Goodbye (logoff) |
+--------------------------------------+
As you can see most of the menus are really easy to use once you see the
help menus associated with them.
There are 2 commands in this area that warrant special attention from me at
this time. They are download/upload and Statistics. Again we will show you
the actual menus involved and then our comments on them.
When you type either a U for upload or D for download you will see the
following menu of transfer protocols.
Transfer Type
A ... Ascii K ... KERMIT
X ... Xmodem XC ... Xmodem/CRC
M ... Modem7 MC ... Modem7/CRC
T ... Telink TC ... Telink/CRC
? ... Help Q ... Quit
A K X XC M MC T TC Q ?:
You must at this point either select one of the above or Q for quit back to
the file area menu.
You must be sure of the protocols your terminal software is capable of
before you reach this point. In the above lsit Modem7 refers to A TYPE OF
TRANSFER -NOT A PROGRAM NAME !!!!!!
The best protocol is Telelink/CRC. Since the Minitel program is required
for Telelink transfers, and was written especially for that, it makes the
most efficient use of the Fido file transfer routines.
The next screen is from the file menu when you select the S option for
statistics.
45222961 bytes total disk space, 35632291 bytes free.
1 Mar 85 11:24:45, on for 1:37 mins.
Your 9th call
| Total Today Limit Left
------------+------------------------
Downloaded: | 996 50 50 0 Kbytes
Uploaded: | 0 0 Kbytes
This call: | 235 35 50 15 Min.
Per 48 Hrs: | 0 0 0 Min.
The above chart is from one of my not so favorite callers. As you can see
he has download almost 1 MILLION bytes of software and uploaded NONE. You
can see exactly how much time you have left at any given time you call, and
where you are in regards to any limits on downloads and uploads. So if you
ever need to know the limits before you attempt a download or an upload,
this is how you will find out.
Back at the main menu, lets explore one more command that everyone seems to
have problems with. It is the C for change command. Below please find an
example menu when you type C from the main menu.
----- Change User -----
You have $5.50 credit, $0.35 charges pending (Fidomail)
U)ser name : Tom Smith
C)ity, ST : New York Ny
P)assword : A0L12SDC (don't bother I changed it)
H)elp Level: NOVICE
----- Your Screen -----
N)ulls : 0
"M)ore?" : ON
W)idth : 80 columns
L)ength : 24 lines
T)abs : OFF
CHANGE Commands:
C)ity P)assword H)elp-Level
N)ulls W)idth L)ength T)abs M)ore Q)uit
CHANGE: U C P H N W L T M Q or ? for help: Q
You have the option to change the above information as you see fit. The
items in parenthesis above are comments I added to make things clear to
you.
What is FidoMail?, is a frequent feedback question I get.
FidoMail is an integral part of the Fido BBS system. It allows you to send
and receive messages to/from any of the other Fido systems around the world
today (see list in the General file section). You can send for example a 7K
letter and or program from one Fido to another for a charge of about 30
cents. What do I mean by a charge ? CONTACT your local Fido sysop and he
will will explain his policy on Fidomail. I charge my callers a flat rate
of 33 cents for each Fido mail sent. This is based on information provided
to me from the phone company, and each Fido sysop can set the rates as he
sees fit for his particular area. The messages are delivered overnight in
95% of the cases, and unless a Fido is down, delivery is assured within 2
days. This allows people to send and receive mail with little expense and
maximum speed.
If you are interested in running a Fido yourself, you can download the
version for your computer from this Fido's Archive.