I was one of those Hams that began logging on to BBS'es after getting a C=64 many years ago.

I met you on another GT POWER BBS, The Volunteer BBS and later joined your Pan-American BBS .

Reading computer magazines started my interest but when a fellow Ham told me about a dial-up Commodore BBS i ztarted there.
I found about The Volunteer BBS from a list in a free monthly(?) magazine I found in some stores.

40 years ago.

I wanted to learn about computing from folks who KNEW computing already
Kinda like the old Automobile commercial:
Ask the man who owns one.

How can I become A Mister Know-It-All other than by associating with the people Who Actually KNOW the ins and outs of operating computers,sharing their successes and failures with others Users.

I never got to the Mr. KIA level BUT I have learned lots and lots of things that makes computing life easier for me.
Also the BBS membership allows Me to share things I've learned (good&bad) while using the gear here.

Thanks to You and all of the other Sysops that I used their Systems, I enjoy using PC's and this cellphone You Folks have made my life easier.
So I come back, and back, and back againand again.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
Ed
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

Re: ANSI art
By: phigan to Nightfox on Fri Jul 18 2025 12:27 am

Nothing wrong with making an honest buck. But it only lasts until big money takes notice. Small operators are gradually squeezed out and eventually only giants remain. That's what the telcos and cable operators did to independent ISPs.

Like the shareware mindset, it was always doomed.
---
þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ
[vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

Your last line had me remember way back 40 years ago when there were many free Games written and shared for the C=64 and after running a game I saw a screen saying itwS a Shareware Program and had some numbers after a Dollar Sign.

I'd never seen that before .Until that day.

Some years later I got a disk to try out Compuserve for a half hour at no cost. I looked aound Compuserve and didn't think it was worth paying for.

T'wasn't until I got interested in DSL that I wanted to spend money for my hobby.
Ed
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

Your post had me remember that You and Daryl Stout were using your internet account to Transfer GT Power packets long before the FIDO SYSOPS begansoing that.

It is normal operating procedure now days

You Two were doing that to lessen your telephone bill(s).

THANKS MUCH­!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ed
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

I found about The Volunteer BBS from a list in a free monthly(?) magazine I found in some stores.

40 years ago.

The Help Line was probably the first GT Power BBS I used. The Volunteer
was my local network hub for many years.

I found most local BBS numbers posted on the boards I called.


* SLMR 2.1a * "Television! Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover..." - Homer
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

Your post had me remember that You and Daryl Stout were using your internet account to Transfer GT Power packets long before the FIDO SYSOPS begansoing that.

It is normal operating procedure now days

You Two were doing that to lessen your telephone bill(s).

THANKS MUCH­!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually starting doing that with some software that another GT Power BBS sysop wrote... Russell Kroll, I think. He maintained the software that
allowed a GT BBS to connect to Usenet/the Internet.


* SLMR 2.1a * "Get out & take your Sacagawea dollars with you!" - Moe
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

Ed,

How can I become A Mister Know-It-All other than by associating
with the people Who Actually KNOW the ins and outs of operating computers,sharing their successes and failures with others
Users.

The same applies to amateur radio or any other hobby. You can NOT
know or do EVERYTHING in that hobby, but you can be an "Elmer" (to
use the highest compliment a ham radio operator can receive), to the
new folks to the hobby.

I never got to the Mr. KIA level BUT I have learned lots and
lots of things that makes computing life easier for me.
Also the BBS membership allows Me to share things I've learned
(good&bad) while using the gear here.

There are a few bad apples with any hobby, but for the most part,
experiences have been good...and you make many new friends.

Thanks to You and all of the other Sysops that I used their
Systems, I enjoy using PC's and this cellphone You Folks have
made my life easier. So I come back, and back, and back
againand again. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back after a nearly 9 month BBS hiatus (although it was
longer regarding the message networks), as "life got in the way";
namely with my younger brother's suicide, panic attacks, and a
nervous breakdown, that landed me in the psychiatric ward for a
week.

They were feeding us 2000 calories A MEAL (not a day), like WE
were the ones being fattened up for Thanksgiving...although some
of us feel that we're turkeys, anyway. <G> After my release, a
fellow ham radio operator told me "You have an excuse to be sane;
the rest of us aren't so lucky".

73,

Daryl, N5VLZ

... H.A.M. - Have Another Meal, Haven't Any Money, Haven't Any Memory
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Ed,

Your post had me remember that You and Daryl Stout were using
your internet account to Transfer GT Power packets long before
the FIDO SYSOPS begansoing that.

It is normal operating procedure now days

You Two were doing that to lessen your telephone bill(s).

Like ham radio operators, BBS Sysops are frugal cheapskates. <G>

THANKS MUCH­!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pleasure was ours.

73,

Daryl, N5VLZ

... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Mike,

The Help Line was probably the first GT Power BBS I used. The
Volunteer was my local network hub for many years.

I found most local BBS numbers posted on the boards I called.

When I first got into dialing up local BBS's, I found a BBS telecommunications program called "GT Power" at a local computer
store (which has long since shut down). It came on 5.25" floppy
disks. I recognized the software as what was being run by some
other central Arkansas area BBS's...and after the original author,
Paul Meiners, moved from Houston, Texas, to Phoenix, Arizona, I
finally got in touch with him, and was able to register it.

I ran it exclusively from 1992 to 2005 under dial-up. The only
2 other packages I used (after the change in developers for GT)
were Virtual Advanced and Synchronet. Of those 3, only Synchronet
is being actively developed with features, add-ons, etc.

Getting things set up wasn't difficult, but it was tedious.

I still use one of the GT Power utility screens (PowerNews),
that was done by Cory Wright of The Rising Connection (TRC),
and I had used his DoorWorks utility to track door usage. Since
I'm back with Synchronet, I've tried workarounds to find a door
usage utility that I can use, but so far, none have worked.

Daryl

... Have you thanked your Sysop or Echo Moderator today??
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Mike,

I actually starting doing that with some software that another
GT Power BBS sysop wrote... Russell Kroll, I think. He
maintained the software that allowed a GT BBS to connect to
Usenet/the Internet.

I believe you're correct on that. Unfortunately, most of the BBS
software, doorgame, and utility authors are gone.

Daryl

... Definition of an upgrade: Take old bugs out; insert new bugs.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Daryl Stout to Dumas Walker on Tue Sep 02 2025 05:30 pm

and I had used his DoorWorks utility to track door usage. Since
I'm back with Synchronet, I've tried workarounds to find a door
usage utility that I can use, but so far, none have worked.

I don't know how well it works (I didn't write it), but there is this: https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs/-/tree/master/xtrn/doorscan

Did you try that one?
--
digital man (rob)

This Is Spinal Tap quote #20:
Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation. Norco, CA WX: 80.5øF, 57.0% humidity, 0 mph NNW wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs ---
þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

and I had used his DoorWorks utility to track door usage. Since
I'm back with Synchronet, I've tried workarounds to find a door
usage utility that I can use, but so far, none have worked.

Since synchronet is being actively developed, and there are still folks
writing utilities for it, maybe someone out there somewhere has ideas about that.

on edit: looks like DM suggested one that is in the repository.


* SLMR 2.1a * If all appears to go well, you missed something...
---
þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Daryl Stout to Dumas Walker on Tue Sep 02 2025 05:30 pm

by Cory Wright of The Rising Connection (TRC), and I had used his DoorWorks utility to track door usage. Since I'm back with Synchronet, I've tried workarounds to find a door usage utility that I can use, but so far, none have worked.

What kind of door tracking are you looking for? A little while ago, I made something that looks at your Synchronet logs and puts together door usage stats, and I made a web page that shows the door usage stats graphically using a JS chart library.

An example of the page on my BBS:

http://digitaldistortionbbs.com/digdist-pages/DoorStats.xjs

If you want to download it and set it up on your BBS, this is a link:

http://digdist.synchro.net/files/BBS/SYNCUTIL/DoorSWeb.zip

Nightfox

---
þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Daryl Stout to Dumas Walker on Tue Sep 02 2025 05:30 pm

I believe you're correct on that. Unfortunately, most of the BBS
software, doorgame, and utility authors are gone.

well they are still around. they have just moved on and i understand that.
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::

Rob,

I don't know how well it works (I didn't write it), but there
is this:
https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs/-/tree/master/xtrn/doorscan

Did you try that one?

I don't think I have...I'll have to get it.

Daryl

... Water is essential to life -- without it, you can't make coffee.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Mike,

Since synchronet is being actively developed, and there are
still folks writing utilities for it, maybe someone out there
somewhere has ideas about that.

on edit: looks like DM suggested one that is in the repository.

I saw that, and I'll go get it after I finish this mail packet,
although dinner may need to come first. <G>

Daryl

... Access denied---nah nah nah nah naaah nah!
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

What kind of door tracking are you looking for? A little while
ago, I made something that looks at your Synchronet logs and
puts together door usage stats, and I made a web page that
shows the door usage stats graphically using a JS chart
library.

An example of the page on my BBS:

http://digitaldistortionbbs.com/digdist-pages/DoorStats.xjs

If you want to download it and set it up on your BBS, this is a
link:

http://digdist.synchro.net/files/BBS/SYNCUTIL/DoorSWeb.zip

I'll take a look at that.

I'm also trying to locate these utilities:

1) The CAPTCHA utility by LordBlackfair

2) The updated SynCWx utility

3) The Solar Data Utility

All of these are for Synchronet.

Daryl

... Are you sure it's plugged in??
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: Door usage tracking
By: Daryl Stout to Nightfox on Wed Sep 03 2025 06:28 pm

2) The updated SynCWx utility

That one is from KenDB3. It looks like there's a Github page for it:

https://github.com/KenDB3/syncWXremix

Nightfox

---
þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Digital Man to Daryl Stout on Tue Sep 02 2025 10:36 pm

and I had used his DoorWorks utility to track door usage. Since
I'm back with Synchronet, I've tried workarounds to find a door
usage utility that I can use, but so far, none have worked.

I don't know how well it works (I didn't write it), but there is this: https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs/-/tree/master/xtrn/doorscan

Tim uses D-DooR v4.10 * Copyright (c) 1993 * Victor Magdic over at The Fool's Quarter

---
þ Synchronet þ This is my tagline so I don't get any complaints when I post

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: The Lizard Master to Digital Man on Thu Sep 04 2025 09:24 am

I don't know how well it works (I didn't write it), but there is
this: https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs/-/tre
e/master/xtrn/doorscan

Tim uses D-DooR v4.10 * Copyright (c) 1993 * Victor Magdic over at
The Fool's Quarter

yeah that looks decent.
https://i.imgur.com/FEgpvYm.png
I'm not sure how much he had to struggle with it.
i dont have it on my system and i dont see it on his website. his bbs has no files. okay now i see i have it. it's for RA.

i can upload it to vert.
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::

2) The updated SynCWx utility

That one is from KenDB3. It looks like there's a Github page
for it:

https://github.com/KenDB3/syncWXremix

I went to the github pages, and I never saw a download link.
I'll have to look again.

I'm also looking for that Solar-Data one (alco-solar), and
the updated CAPTCHA one from Lord Blackfair.

Daryl

... Right turn, Clyde!!
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: Door usage tracking
By: Daryl Stout to Nightfox on Fri Sep 05 2025 02:34 pm

https://github.com/KenDB3/syncWXremix

I went to the github pages, and I never saw a download link. I'll have to look again.

It's the green button that says "Code" with the down arrow - Click that, and a menu should appear - you should be able to download it with the "Download ZIP" option.

Nightfox

---
þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

It's the green button that says "Code" with the down arrow -
Click that, and a menu should appear - you should be able to
download it with the "Download ZIP" option.

Yeah, I found that, but I ran into some issues.

1) The SyncWx deal REQUIRES an API from WeatherUnderground, but
they will ONLY make them available to folks who have home weather
stations. So, that leaves me out in the cold (no pun intended). I
do have an API with OpenWeather that I use with the Amateur Radio
D-Rats setup, but that won't work with this one. I used the program
before, and really liked it...but I could not find my former
WUnderground API key.

2) I did get the Solar-Data one working...it's useful for me when
the topic turns to propagation on my ham radio traffic nets.

3) The CAPTCHA deal I saw from Lord Blackfair looked like the
original one, but not the one where it changed with every wrong
attempt. I basically made a bunch of batchfiles and SRC deals
that I compiled to BIN files, with different codes in each one,
then set up the Task Scheduler to change the data every 5 minutes
around the clock. The work on that wasn't hard, but it was tedious.

4) I'm going to set up the Word Of The Day and the Bitcoin Exchange
one later today. I was busy with other BBS and ham radio stuff
yesterday, and I've learned the hard way NOT to work on the computer
while one is fatigued.

Daryl

... Bad Command. Bad, bad Command. Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Daryl Stout wrote to Nightfox <=-

1) The SyncWx deal REQUIRES an API from WeatherUnderground, but
they will ONLY make them available to folks who have home weather stations. So, that leaves me out in the cold (no pun intended). I
do have an API with OpenWeather that I use with the Amateur Radio
D-Rats setup, but that won't work with this one. I used the program before, and really liked it...but I could not find my former
WUnderground API key.

The best weather door out there now is called "AI-WX". It's available
from the author's BBS at: firesidebbs.com:23231 in the "Lonewolf
Software" file area.

It does use an API that is free to get. It is *FAR* superior to any
weather door you've ever used before, I promise.



... Gone crazy, be back later, please leave message.
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: Re: Door usage tracking
By: Daryl Stout to Nightfox on Mon Sep 08 2025 10:06 am

1) The SyncWx deal REQUIRES an API from WeatherUnderground, but they will ONLY make them available to folks who have home weather stations. So, that leaves me out in the cold (no pun intended). I do have an API with

I was able to set up SyncWx and didn't need a home weather station.. Though currently when I run it, it's getting a JSON.parse error - maybe the data it's downloading is invalid. I'll have to look into that.

Nightfox

---
þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

I was able to set up SyncWx and didn't need a home weather
station.. Though currently when I run it, it's getting a
JSON.parse error - maybe the data it's downloading is invalid.
I'll have to look into that.

That is the same error I'm getting. I thought it was not having
the JSON port opened in my router, but that's not it. I'm also
getting similar errors with the Bitcoin data door, and the Word
Of The Day door.

Daryl

... Blizzard Warning: When your Dairy Queen confectionary treat is ready.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

The best weather door out there now is called "AI-WX". It's
available from the author's BBS at: firesidebbs.com:23231 in
the "Lonewolf Software" file area.

It does use an API that is free to get. It is *FAR* superior
to any weather door you've ever used before, I promise.

OK, I'll take a look for that...thanks.

Being in a combination of Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley, I need
to keep up on the weather.

I downloaded it, and I see it's shareware...but it'll be next
month before I can register it.

Daryl

... Onion rings are just donuts with breading.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS -- Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: MRO to Daryl Stout on Wed Sep 03 2025 04:55 pm

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Daryl Stout to Dumas Walker on Tue Sep 02 2025 05:30 pm

I believe you're correct on that. Unfortunately, most of the BBS software, doorgame, and utility authors are gone.

well they are still around. they have just moved on and i understand that.

And some of us are still around, but haven't moved on.

Lonewolf
AI-WX Weather Door (2025)
RoboTape (1992) etc...

---
þ Synchronet þ TeleGodzilla BBS/telegodzilla.com:50023

Re: Re: ANSI art
By: Lonewolf to MRO on Thu Sep 11 2025 04:38 pm

well they are still around. they have just moved on and i understand that.

And some of us are still around, but haven't moved on.

Lonewolf AI-WX Weather Door (2025) RoboTape (1992) etc...

good for you
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::