                           MusicalNet Information
                          Release date: 2019-08-29

                                  by

                             Eric Oulashin
                     Sysop of Digital Distortion BBS
                 BBS internet address: digitaldistortionbbs.com
                                       digdist.synchro.net
                     Email: eric.oulashin@gmail.com



This file describes the DeveloperNet QWK-based message network.

Contents
========
1. Introduction
2. Rules for Sysops
3. Rules for Users
4. BBS setup (Synchronet/Mystic)


1. Introduction
===============
DeveloperNet is a QWK-based message network dedicated to software development.
As of August 4, 2009, there are 64 message areas, pertaining to various
programming & scripting languages, software design, and software development
frameworks.  I created this network to provide a forum for software developers
to discuss software development and to help each other.

Files in this archive:
----------------------
Read Me.txt: The file you're viewing right now :)

MUS_SUBS.TXT: This contains a list of the MusicalNet sub-boards, exported by Synchronet.
              The MusicalNet sub-boards can be imported into Synchronet from this file
              (see section 4: Synchronet Setup for more info).

ConferenceNums.txt: This file contains the conference numbers for the sub-boards
                    in MusicalNet.  The conference numbers are required
                    for configuring the sub-boards that are synchronized for the
                    network hub (see section 4: Synchronet Setup for more info).

MusicalNet Descriptions.txt: This file contains descriptions of the MusicalNet
                             sub-boards.

musicnet.na: This file contains a list of FTN echotags and echo descriptions in 
             NA format for importation into FTN mail tossers.

MUSICNET.znn:  This is the current FTN nodelist at the time of processing.

MUSICNET.APP:  Application form for a FTN node number (not needed if you're going
               get a feed via QWK).

FILE_ID.DIZ: Contains the description of the MusicalNet info packet.


2. Rules for Sysops
===================
The only rule I'd like to ask is that drama and flame wars should be kept to a minimum.
Public message areas with disrespectful people, excessive flame wars and drama are not
conducive to useful discussions and tend to push users away.  If you feel that one of
your users is causing excessive flame wars or drama, feel free to deny that user post
access to the MusicalNet areas.


3. Rules for Users
==================
Please be respectful to other users and avoid creating drama and/or flame wars.


4. BBS setup (Synchronet/Mystic)
================================
The first step in setting up the message network is to create a QWK account on my
BBS: Log into my BBS via telnet at digdist.synchro.net and choose the option from
the menu to create a new user.  Enter your QWK ID for the user name.  One of the
questions you will be asked is whether this account will be used for QWK
networking - Answer Yes.  Once the account is created, you should be presented
with the QWK Offline Reader menu.  If the QWK offline reader menu does not appear,
you can press ? to see the menu.  The default QWK account settings should work,
but this is a good time to check them:
   - Press C to change your packet configuration.  The archive type should be ZIP.
     Press Q to quit out of the packet configuration menu.
   - Press S to select message areas to scan.  Select 2 for DeveloperNet and 
     make sure all sub-boards are enabled (or only the ones you want, if you
     wish to not carry all the sub-boards on your BBS).
     Press Q to quit out of the message area scan menu.
   - Then, you may press Q from the QWK offline reader menu to log off.

Note that I have set up my BBS so that QWK accounts can be on for 40 minutes per day,
up to 48 calls per day, and up to 8 minutes per call.  I allow a fairly large number of
emails and message posts for QWK accounts (5000 each) and up to 1000 lines per message.

Synchronet setup
----------------
In this section, I attempt to describe setting up Synchronet for accessing MusicalNet.
If you have previously set up your BBS with other QWK-based networks, such as DOVE-Net,
this process should be pretty much the same.

1. Add the MusicalNet message areas.
A) Run Synchronet's configuration program (SCFG), if it's not already running.  From
   the main menu, select Message Areas.
B) Scroll down to the blank entry at the bottom and press Enter to select it.  When
   it asks for the group long name, enter MusicalNet.  The group short name doesn't
   matter; it can be the same as the long name.
C) Make sure the new message group is highlighted, and press Enter to select it.
D) Scroll down to "Import Areas..." and press Enter to select that option.  It will
   ask you for the file format: Choose "SUBS.TXT    (Synchronet)" and press Enter.
   It will then prompt you for the location of SUBS.TXT.  Enter the full path &
   filename of either DEV_SUBS.TXT or MUS_SUBS.TXT (included in this archive), depending
   on which sub-board group you want to import, then press Enter.  The message areas
   should now be set up.

2. Make sure your BBS is configured with a QWK ID.  From the main menu of Synchronet's
   configuration program, choose Message Options.  The option "BBS ID for QWK Packets"
   should be set.  This needs to be a unique character string to identify your BBS.
   I should be an abbreviation for your BBS name or something otherwise meaningful to
   you.

3. Add my BBS, Digital Distortion, as a network hub in your Synchronet configuration.
A) From the main menu of Synchronet's configuration program, select Networks, then
   QWK Packet Networks, then Network Hubs.
B) Scroll down to the blank entry in the list and press Enter.  When it asks for the
   system ID, type DIGDIST and press Enter.
C) DIGDIST should now appear in your QWK Message Hubs list.  Make sure it is highlighted,
   and press Enter to edit it.  Your configuration for DIGDIST should look similar to this:
   +[][?]--------------------------------------------------------------+
                            DIGDIST Network Hub                        
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hub System ID              DIGDIST                                
    Pack Command Line          %@zip -jD %f %s                        
    Unpack Command Line        %@unzip -Coj %f %s -d %g               
    |Call-out Command Line      *qnet-ftp %s digdist.synchro.net YOURPASS 
    Call-out Node              1                                      
    Call-out Days              All                                    
    Call-out Frequency         48 times a day                         
    Networked Sub-boards...                                           
   +--------------------------------------------------------------------+
   Note: In the call-out command line, YOURPASS will need to be changed to the password
   for your QWK user account that you set up on my BBS.
D) Scroll down the "Networked Sub-boards..." and press Enter to select that option.
   A new dialog box will appear titled "Networked Sub-boards".  Here is where you need
   to tell Synchronet which message sub-boards to synchronize with the hub.  For each
   of the MusicalNet sub-boards, you will need to add an entry in this list as follows:
   1. Select the blank entry at the bottom
   2. A dialog will appear with message groups.  Select MusicalNet, and then select
      the next sub-board you want to add.  It will then prompt you for the sub-board's
      conference number on the hub.  Refer to the file ConferenceNums.txt for the
      conference numbers.

Once you have completed these steps, your BBS should now be able to send and receive
messages for MusicalNet!

Mystic setup
------------
These instructions should (hopefully) work for Mystic (thanks to Jeff on FSXNet
for providing these instructions):
1. In the Mystic configuration, under Networking->QWK General Settings, enter
a QWK Packet ID of your choosing.

2. Under Networking->QWK Networks, add a new network. Active Poll Yes, Name
(your choice), Member type Node, FTP Host digdist.synchro.net, Login the QWK
Packet ID from step 2, Password (leave blank for now), Use Passive Yes,
Packet ID digdist, Archive Type ZIP, Use QWKE No.

3. Telnet to digdist.synchro.net and create a new account, using the QWK
Packet ID from step 2 as a username. Accept the generated password or create
a new one. Put this password into the Mystic configuration, where you left it
blank in step 3. Answer the questions as appropriate, but when it asks if you
want to set this up for a QWK network (DoveNet), answer Yes even if you're
not interested in DoveNet. Eventually you'll get dumped to a QWK: prompt.

4. Unzip MusicNet.zip and open ConferenceNums.txt; figure out which
conferences you want to participate in.

5. At the QWK: prompt, enter ? to see a menu. [S] Select Message Areas to
Scan. Activate the conferences you want and deactivate the ones you don't.
[Q] back to the QWK: prompt and [P] Modify New-message Pointers. Select all
and set them to a [D]ate of 01/01/1980 00:00. Press [Q] until you're logged
off.

6. Start creating Message Bases. Create a new Message Group if you wish, note
the ID. For each conference that you selected, make a new Message Base using
info from the ConferenceNums.txt file, marked below in brackets:
Name: [Conference name]
Base Type: EchoMail
QWK Name: [QWK Name]
File Name: your choice, maybe the [QWK Name] in lowercase?
Path: something appropriate for your configuration
List/Read/Post/Sysop ACS: something appropriate for your configuration,
probably using g# where # is the Message Group ID you may have created earlier
Net Address: 0:0/0 (Local Address)
Export To: 0 node(s)
Origin: your BBS name?
QWK Network: the network you created in step 3
QWK Base ID: [Conf. Number]

7. From your Mystic home directory, run "qwkpoll all" ("./qwkpoll all" under
Linux). It should download a packet and automatically import the messages
into the new Message Bases.

8. If step 7 was successful, set up an event to periodically run "qwkpoll
all" to import/export messages.