Subj : Re: Reading QWK in BBS
To   : Wall E. Weasel
From : ACMEBBS
Date : Fri May 20 2022 02:26 am

-=> Wall E. Weasel wrote to ACMEBBS <=-

 -=> ACMEBBS wrote to All <=-

 AC> Have followed the steps to setup QWK networking with Mystic & have
 AC> attempted  to set up Telegard/Renegade under OS/2-ArcaOS. No matter
 AC> what the software  is...the software does not see the QWK packets I've
 AC> downloaded.

 WEW> Neither of those BBS packages have a native QWK network function.  They
 WEW> function only as a QWK door, meaning they import .REP files and produce
 WEW> .QWK bundles.  That's exactly the opposite of what a QWK networking
 WEW> client does. You will have to follow a couple of extra steps to get
 WEW> things working.

Thank you for telling me this. 

 WEW> You'll need to convert between the two packet types.  Grab the last
 WEW> version of FidoQWK, which contains a module to convert QWK->REP.  It
 WEW> will also translate the QWK index numbers between what's expected on
 WEW> the client BBS and what the host (Mystic) is using.

Saw this program pop up & blew it off as being needed. Now...I know that
reading/responding is done with a reader.

 WEW> Next you'll need to create or select an account on the client BBS for
 WEW> importing the converted .REP file.  On Renegade this account will need
 WEW> SysOp ACS for the messages area(s) you are importing to.  Telegard has
 WEW> a separate network ACS that will be used instead.  If the user account
 WEW> doesn't have these ACS ratings, all of the messages in the .REP file
 WEW> which are not from that user will get discarded.  Log on to the client
 WEW> BBS as that user and set up the QWK area(s) to include only the ones
 WEW> you're wanting to network.

What really threw me off with Renegade & to a lesser degree with the others was
the QWK setting for the message base. The extensive reading of the docs didn't
do a good job of explaining this. 

 AC>  On the other hand...have no problem with reading the same
 AC> packets with Bluewave/Multimail.

 WEW> That's to be expected.  Those are QWK readers which are meant to read
 WEW> .QWK packets and produce .REP replies.

Realized that after I posted this message. Part of my misunderstanding was that
I thought I needed to use BBS software to read the packets and produce replies.
Guess I need to change my name to D'oh. ;)

Thank you so much for explaining this. I hope that others read this and it
saves them a ton of work/reading on trying to get it to work.
.... If you pull the wings off a fly, does it become a walk? 
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
 * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)

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