Clean up the seeds by removing dupes

From: MRL "Mark R. London"

Date: 19-JUN-1987 16:19

Subj: BULLETIN

You are about to receive version 1.31 of the PFC BULLETIN.  This software is

public domain.  (I will gladly accept recommendations for new features, not

for changes that are due to "personal" preference.)

(The latest feature and bug fixes for this new version are listed later.)

You will be receiving 11 files:

	1) BULLETIN.FOR

	2) BULLETIN0.FOR

	3) BULLETIN1.FOR

	4) BULLETIN2.FOR

	5) BULLETIN3.FOR

	6) BULLETIN4.FOR

	7) BULLETIN5.FOR

	8) BULLETIN6.FOR

	9) ALLMACS.MAR

	10) BULLCOMS.HLP

	11) BULLET.COM

	(They will be indentified in the SUBJECT header.)

BULLET.COM is a command procedure which when run, will create several small

files.  After you run it, you can delete it.

Read AAAREADME.TXT for installation instructions.

NOTE: When creating these files (using the EXTRACT command) from the VMS MAIL

utility, you will have to strip off any mail headers that are present, including

blank lines.  A command procedure is included at this end of this message which

can be run which uses EDT to do this for you.

SECOND NOTE: The feature which allows setting up folders to be publicly

readable but with limited access for writing requires at least VMS VERSION 4.4,

as the code uses a new system service $CHECK_ACCESS.  The code is in

BULLETIN4.FOR, and instructions are there for how to comment it out if you are

running an earlier version.  This will simply cause the feature to be disabled.

Creating fully private folders will still be possible (i.e. limited access for

both reading and writing).

I've had various problems sending files to certain sites.  I've had to reduce

file sizes in order to transfer the files, and more reduction may be necessary.

BITNET sites are being sent files without any TABs, as TABs were getting

converted to 4 spaces.  Please let me know of any sites which have similar

problems (or any other type, for that matter).  Thank you.

						Mark London

						MRL%PFCVAX@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is a description of recent new features and bug fixes.

V1.0

One is now able to increase the limit of the number folders to whatever you

want rather than the previous limit of 64.  However, changing the limit

requires rebuilding the executable.

/VMSMAIL added to use with  SET BBOARD/SPECIAL to check if there is VMS MAIL

before running special command procedure.  This saves time and avoids

needless subprocess creation.

EXTRACT command added as synonym command to FILE (for compatibility).  Also

/NEW qualifier added to create new file rather than appending to existing file.

CREATE/BRIEF did not work properly.  Although SHOW BRIEF would show that BRIEF

was set, in reality it was not.  Note that help for these two commands were

also omitted.

V1.1

Removed restriction that prevented GENERAL folder from being set to PRIVATE

or SEMIPRIVATE.

Fixed bugs with regards to PRIVATE folders.  If it had /BRIEF or /READNEW

defaults, a user without the ability to access that folder would get access

violation when logging in.  Also, if /NOTIFY was a default, the user would get

notified.  These have been fixed.  Also, a bug which caused a crash when

attempting to MOVE a message to a PRIVATE folder has been fixed.

Access to private folders besides being allowed via SET ACCESS commands,

is now allowed based on process privileges.  Previously, access was allowed

based on the UAF authorized privileges rather than process privileges.

Made MODIFY/OWNER a privileged command.  Also, modifying ownership of a private

bulletin has been corrected.  Previously, it did not change access correctly.

It now removes access from the old user and adds access to the new user.

Allow the CREATE command to become privileged command via change in BULLCOM.CLD.

Add /FOLDER qualifier to ADD command.

Modified algorithm which deleted non-existant users from user data file when

new user logged in.  For large databases, this was taking a long time, and

in fact was not very useful.

Add /EDIT qualifier to BULLETIN command, similar to MAIL/EDIT, to cause /EDIT

to be the default for ADD & REPLACE commands.

EX command is equal to EXIT, and is not flagged as being ambiguous (due to

conflict with EXTRACT command added in V1.0).

Fixed bug which caused incorrect notification of new messages in folders.

Situation occurred if new message expired after user logged in.  BULLETIN

would notify user that new message existed, and would place user at a

message that the user had already read.

In login display, add line of minus signs to separate SYSTEM messages.

(This can be disabled if desired by modifying BULLMAIN.CLD).

Fixed (?) bugs which prevented proper file conversion from older versions of

BULLETIN (circa 1985).

V1.2

Added SHOW NEW command to show folders with unread new messages.  This is

useful if you enter BULLETIN and are notified that there are new messages

in certain folder, and later in the session which to show which folders

still have unread messages.

CREATE/BRIEF should have been a privileged command, but was not.  It is

now privileged.

The /ALL qualifier has been added to the SET BRIEF/NOTIFY/READNEW command.

It will modify the option for the selected option for all users.  This is

in contrast to /DEFAULT, which would only modify the default for new users.

This is a privileged command.

When reading messages, the name of the folder is displayed on the top line

at the upper right hand corner (similar to MAIL).

V1.3

Fixed bug introduced in V1.1 that would put wrong subject in MOVED message.

/EDIT feature now correctly recognizes MAIL$EDIT definitions of CALLABLE_EDT

and CALLABLE_TPU.

Messages sent via BBOARD that have lines containing greater than 80 characters

are now broken into separate lines rather than truncated.

V1.31

SEARCH did not work as advertised.  It would start the search at the currently

read message rather than at the beginning of the folder.  This has been fixed.

Additionally, a /START qualifier has been added to the command.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$ set nover

$ edit/edt/nocommand allmacs.mar

';  Name: SETACC.MAR'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin0.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin1.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin2.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin3.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin4.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin5.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bulletin6.for

'C  BULLETIN'

d 1:.-2

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bullcoms.hlp

'1 ADD'

d 1:.-1

exit

$ edit/edt/nocommand bullet.com

'$set nover'

d 1:.-1

exit

From: MRL "Mark R. London"

Date: 01-FEB-1988 12:00

Subj: Introduction to BULLETIN on the Vax

               Introduction to BULLETIN on the Vax

                                                  2/88 AW

PUBLISHED BY THE DREW UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC COMPUTER CENTER. MAY BE

COPIED WITH WRITING CREDIT GIVEN TO DREW UNIVERSITY.

BULLETIN was written for the Public Domain by Mark London at MIT.

     The BULLETIN utility permits a user to create messages for

reading by other users.  Users may be notified upon logging on

that new messages have been added, and what the topic of the

messages are.  Actual reading of the messages is optional.  (See

the command SET READNEW for info on automatic reading.)  Messages

are automatically deleted when their expiration data has passed.

     The program runs like VAX mail.  The different interest

groups or BULLETIN boards are implemented in the form of

'Folders', just like a filing cabinet.  A Folder contain various

messages on the same general topic.  A message is a piece of text

written by a user or staff person and added to a particular

folder.  All users are not permitted to submit messages to all

folders.

     A message consists of an expiration date, a subject line

and the text of the message.  BULLETIN will prompt the user for

these things when a message is being added.

     Several different folders are currently defined to

BULLETIN.  The General Folders will be used by Computer Center

Staff to post messages of general interest concerning the VAX to

the user community.  If something is of an important nature, it

will be posted in the General folder as a 'System' message.

This is a special message type.  It will be displayed to each

user  as they log in the first time after that message was

posted.  This will be done automatically by BULLETIN on login.

Once a particular system message has been displayed, it will not

be displayed for that user on subsequent logins.

Folders

     Different folders have been created to contain messages on

different topics.  Folders may be public, semi-private, or

private.  The majority of the folders will be public.  However a

few will be semi-private, which will mean that all users may

read messages in the folder but not all will be able to post to

it.  Currently, there are several folders defined:

GENERAL -- system messages

PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS -- Can be used by anyone to post messages

of interest to the public

On Beta:

AIDE STATION -- Private folder for Computer Center Employees

In addition on Alpha there are folders that receive electronic

magazines, such as:

NETMONTH --  The monthly magazine of BITNET information.

RISKS -- Identifying the risks involved in using computers.

INFOIBMPC -- Information about the IBM personal computers.

INFOVAX -- Information on the Digital VAX.

PROGRAMMING_JOURNALS-Includes MINIX, UNIX and C, Modula-2 and

Prolog journals

watch for new ones being added.

Using BULLETIN

     BULLETIN is invoked by type the command 'BULLETIN' (or BULL,

for short) at the '$' prompt.  BULLETIN will display its prompt

'BULLETIN>'. Help is available from DCL command level ($) or from

within the BULLETIN program itself by typing the word 'HELP'.  To

leave the BULLETIN program, type 'EXIT'.

To see what is there

     In order to see message and folders, on can use the

'Directory' command. Upon entering BULLETIN, the user is place

in the General folder.  If the user wishes to see which folders

exist, the directory/folders command is used. for example:

typing:

     BULLETIN> directory/folders

will make a display like:

      Folder                       Owner

     *GENERAL                      SYSTEM

     *PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS         BBEYER

      NETMONTH                     BITNET

     *VAX_SIG                      BBEYER

An asterisk (*) next to the folder name indicates you have unread

messages in that folder.

The command 'DIRECTORY/FOLDERS/DESCRIBE' would list all available

folders, along with a brief description of each.

     To switch from one folder to another folder, the user may

execute the 'SELECT' command.  For example, the following

command would show what a user would do to switch to the folder

called PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS:

BULLETIN> SELECT PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

and BULLETIN would respond:

     Folder has been set to PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

     Now the user may get a list of the messages in this folder

by issuing the directory command with no qualifiers.

This command, for example:

BULLETIN> DIRECTORY

would have bulletin respond:

 #     Description               From                  Date

 1     CHRISTMAS PARTY           oleksiak              26-JUN-88

 2     Learning about BULLETIN   oleksiak              26-JUN-87

 3     VAX MAIL                  LLLOYD                01-Jan-87

     The command 'DIR/NEW' will list just unread messages.

Reading messages

     In order to read messages in a folder, the user may type

the read command or he/she may simply type the number of the

message he wishes to read.  The message numbers can be acquired

by doing the 'DIRECTORY' command.  If the user hits a carriage

return with no input whatsoever,  BULLETIN will type the first

message in the folder, or if there are new messages present, it

will type the first new message in the folder.

     If a folder contains the above messages (as seen by the

'Directory' command) then these messages can be read by:

BULLETIN> READ

and BULLETIN would respond:

Message number:  1                       PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

Description: CHRISTMAS PARTY

Date:  26-JUN-1988 8:08:40   Expires:  1-JAN-1989 08:08:40

...Body of message.....

     Should the user only wish to see message number 3, he can

enter the 'READ' command with the message number as a parameter.

for example:

BULLETIN> READ 3

     There are three other useful commands that can be used at

the 'BULLETIN>' prompt when reading messages. These are:

BACK - Read the message preceding the message currently being

read.

CURRENT - Start reading the current message at the top.  This is

useful for someone who is reading a message and wishes to reread

it from the beginning.

NEXT - Start reading from the beginning of the next message.

This is handy if the user is reading a very long message and

wants to skip to the next one.

Saving the interesting stuff.

     If the user sees something which he/she wants a copy of,

the extract command can be use to write an ASCII copy of the

message into a file.  This command works on the current message

being read.  It requires the name of the file into which to save

the message.  If the file name is not given, the user will be

prompted for it.  For example:

BULLETIN>  Read 2

********** Message on Screen ********

A person could then type

BULLETIN> extract

file:  FV.TXT

BULLETIN>

BULLETIN has now saved the contents of message number 2 into the

file name 'FV.txt'.

     If the file to which the user is writing already exists,

BULLETIN will append the message to the file.  The user can

force BULLETIN to write a new file containing only the message

being saved by using the '/new' qualifier in the 'extract'

command.  These messages can then be sent to other users, or

downloaded for use in Wordperfect.  (See "Mail on the Vax", or

"Transferring a file between a PC and the VAX").

This command may be useful if you wish to transfer the message to

your PC, perhaps using a BITNET journal message as a reference in

a paper. Once the file is saved, you can transfer it to a PC by

following the instructions in the handout 'Transferring files

from the PC to the VAX of from the VAX to a PC".

Adding messages

     A user may add a message to a folder by selecting the

folder and then using the 'ADD' command.  This is provided that

the user is adding the message to a public folder.  The user has

the option of giving the 'ADD' command and typing a message using

the VAX editor or uploading a message from your PC (see

documentation), or add a message you have extracted from VAX

mail.  BULLETIN will prompt for the expiration date and subject

line.  It will then add the text of the file as the body of the

message. To add a message that is stored in a file (from MAIL or

from your PC, for example) type:

          ADD filename

If the user does not specify a file name, he/she will be

prompted to enter the body of the message.  The user may also

use the EDT text editor by issuing the command with the

'/EDIT'option.

For example:

BULLETIN> sel PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

          folder has been set to PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

BULLETIN> ADD MESS.TXT

IT IS 10-JUL-1988 12:41:06.15.  SPECIFY WHEN THE MESSAGE SHOULD

EXPIRE:  ENTER ABsolute TIME:  <DD-MMM-YYYY]HH:MM:SS OR DELTA

TIME: DDD HH:MM:SS

A user then type the date of expiration and press the 'return'

button.  The time input may be ignored. For example, typing:

20-JUL-1988 or type "10" - for ten days in the future.

BULLETIN responds:

ENTER DESCRIPTION HEADER.  LIMIT HEADER TO 53 CHARACTERS.

Now the user may enter the subject of the message.

BULLETIN>

The above session adds the text in the file 'mess.txt' as the

next message in the PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS Folder.  The message

will be deleted automatically on the 20th of July as requested

by the user adding the message.

Asking BULLETIN to notify you of new messages upon logging in.

     If the user wishes to get notification on login when new

messages are in a folder, he should use the 'READNEW' option.

This command does not force the reader to reading new messages,

only gives notification.  To do this, 'SELECT' each folder you

are interested in and do a 'SET READNEW' command while set to

that folder.

Example:

BULLETIN> Select PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

folder has been set to PUBLIC_ANNOUNCEMENTS

BULLETIN> SET READNEW

Alternately, you may type SET SHOWNEW. This will just display a

message notifying you that there are new messages.

Mailing a BULLETIN message

     A user may directly mail another user a message found in the

BULLETIN.  While reading the message that he/she desires to send,

at the 'BULLETIN>' type 'MAIL'.  The Vax will then ask to whom

you wish to send the information too.

Check the BULLETIN DISCUSSION folder on ALPHA for new additions.

If you have comments or questions about BULLETIN, leave them

there.

From: MRL "Mark R. London"

Date: 01-FEB-1988 12:00

Subj: Information

This message is being displayed by the BULLETIN facility.  This is a non-DEC

facility, so it is not described in the manuals.  Messages can be submitted by

using the BULLETIN command.  System messages, such as this one, are displayed

in full, but can only be entered by privileged users.  Non-system messages can

be entered by anyone, but only their topics will be displayed at login time,

and will be prompted to optionally read them.  (This prompting feature can be

disabled).  All bulletins can be reread at any time unless they are deleted or

expire.  For more information, see the on-line help (via HELP BULLETIN).

From: MRL "Mark R. London"

Date: 01-FEB-1988 12:00

Subj: Information

Non-system bulletins (such as this) can be submitted by any user.  Users are

alerted at login time that new non-system bulletins have been added, but only

their topics are listed.  Optionally, users can be prompted at login time to

see if they wish to read the bulletins.  When reading the bulletins in this

manner, the bulletins can optionally be written to a file.  If you have the

subdirectory [.BULL] created, BULLETIN will use that directory as the default

directory to write the file into.

A user can disable this prompting featuring by using BULLETIN as follows:

$ BULLETIN

BULLETIN> SET NOREADNEW

BULLETIN> EXIT

Afterwords, the user will only be alerted of the bulletins, and will have to

use the BULLETIN utility in order to read the messages.