        ͻ
                                                    Ŀ
              K E E P I N G   I N   T O U C H        
                      
            SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter      
              for registered SPITFIRE Sysops!        
                       October 1993                  
           Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE     
             Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496      
               38400/19200/9600/2400/1200 Baud       
                          2 Nodes                    
                                                     
        ͼ 
          
                    Edited by Jacque Shipley
       The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 19200 Baud
                Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede
      Roam This Fertile Land -  (515) 288-8755 - 2400 Baud
         Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz
                  Other Contributions As Noted


ͻ
    Notes from the author of SPITFIRE!   Ŀ
ͼ 
  


SPITFIRE v3.4 RELEASED
----------------------

   This is surely old news by now, but SPITFIRE v3.4 was officially
released on October 1, 1993.  The upgrade requests have been going
quite smoothly.  As of this date (October 5, 1993), 803 SPITFIRE
Sysops have upgraded to SPITFIRE v3.4.

   Basically, the only problem involved in the upgrade process (on
our end) is that some Sysops who upgraded by having a package shipped
to them feel they are missing SFPUTSN.COM.  They are correct that
SFPUTSN.COM was not shipped to them, however, they have no need for
it since the copy of SPITFIRE on their diskette has already been
converted to reflect their name and serial number.

   The current version of SFPUTSN.COM will only work for SPITFIRE
v3.4 and will not work with future versions of SPITFIRE.  WHY??????
The reason why is somewhat simple.  If SFPUTSN would work with any
version of SPITFIRE, then we would not be able to maintain an
accurate list of current SPITFIRE boards.  Thus, the BBS lists which
we maintain (SFBBLST.TXT) would quickly become inaccurate.  More
important, we wouldn't know who to mail upgrade notices to and thus
we would have to mail to everyone who ever registered SPITFIRE which
is unreasonable considering that each upgrade notice which we mail
costs us nearly $1.00 (hard to believe, isn't it?).

   One last note about SPITFIRE v3.4!  I have just found it amazing
how many 'inactive' SPITFIRE Sysops (have not kept up with the
upgrades, discontinued their board or changed software) all of a
sudden have miraculously came to life (so to speak).  Additionally, I
am receiving a lot of messages that say things like 'best upgrade
ever'.  I think that there is a lesson to be learned from this.  I
suspect I can make more people happy by making (somewhat meaningless)
cosmetic changes than I can by making good substantial changes.  This
is kind of an amazing lesson to me.

   How do you like RIP graphics by now?????  They are really kind of
nice, aren't they?


SORRY FOR BEING TESTE!
----------------------

   I need to apologize for my conduct in certain messages.  It seems
that I get a bit 'teste' whenever a new version of SPITFIRE is
released and there are times that my messages are less than kind.  If
you have been on the receiving end of one of those messages, please
accept my sincere apology.  I don't want to make excuses, but there
is a tremendous amount of stress that gets involved when getting a
new release out the door.  Then, whenever something burps, the new
version gets the blame etc etc etc etc.  It sure serves to get me
down.  Anyway, I realize that I need to learn to deal with it better
than I do.



QWK NET-MAIL SYSTEM BEING WRITTEN FOR SPITFIRE
----------------------------------------------

   Last month I advised you that I was considering writing a QWK
net-mail system for SPITFIRE and I asked for your feedback.  I am
pleased to announce that the feedback I received was all positive.  I
have received lots of offers to test the software.  Thus, the
decision has been made that I will write the software (in fact it is
already started).  Hopefully, I will have an import module ready for
testing in the very near future.  This software will be written in
the normal Buffalo Creek Software manner (no whistles and bells -
just a get-the-job-done program).


PLANS FOR SPITFIRE v3.5 ARE BEING FORMULATED!
---------------------------------------------

    As you may recall, I was in the process of developing a revision
of SPITFIRE when this RIP thing came along and kind of got in the way
of that revision.  Well, now it is time to go back to work on some of
the changes that I want to make to SPITFIRE.  Basically, a couple of
the changes which I have in mind are improvements to the File Section
of SPITFIRE (there really hasn't been any changes in the File Section
since the tagging feature was implemented) and an improved node chat.
Oh ya, I plan to add a subscription feature within SPITFIRE.


SMALL GLITCH FOUND IN SPITFIRE v3.4!
------------------------------------

   Wayne Boshell ("The Fun Seekers" BBS - 408-379-0958) kindly
(smiling) advised me that SPITFIRE does not always increase the
number of callers when operating SPITFIRE multi-node.  Wayne was
absolutely correct and I believe I have located the problem and fixed
it.  Wayne tells me that I never give him credit for anything
(smiling).  Well, Wayne, here is your credit and thank you for
noticing it!!!!!!


BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE ADVISED!
----------------------------

   I have noticed that BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE has not updated their
information about SPITFIRE for years.  Thus, I took the time to write
them a letter and provided them with the current information about
SPITFIRE.  It will be interesting to see if they make the changes.


SOMETHING TO CONSIDER!
----------------------

[ Ephesians 2:8-9 ]ͻ
  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and  Ŀ
  that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God  
  - not of works, lest any man should boast.     
ͼ 
  

    I want to thank each of your for your continued support and
promotion of SPITFIRE ... it is very much appreciated.

                                May God bless you and yours ...
                                Mike Woltz


͸
 RUNNING LAKOTA LOCALLY 
;

     Many Sysops are unaware of an undocumented feature that allows
LAKOTA to be run locally from the DOS prompt.  Using this feature, the 
Sysop can download or upload messages using LAKOTA without logging on
to the BBS.  For LAKOTA to run, all that is needed is a copy of any
one of the caller information data files (SFDOORS.DAT, SFMAIN.DAT, 
SFMESS.DAT or SFFILE.DAT).
    
    The first step in setting up LAKOTA to run from the DOS prompt
is to log onto your BBS locally.  While logged on locally, select
on of the Sysop configurable command options, a SPITFIRE door or
LAKOTA.  This will create the required data file.  It should be 
common knowledge that SPITFIRE automatically erases these files when
it returns from SPITFIRE doors or the respective extended menu option.
Therefore, you must do one of two things.

    First, if possible, jump to DOS and copy the appropriate data file
over to SFMESS.TMP.  If you are unable to jump to DOS, after logging
of the BBS, use an unerase utility to recover the data file and 
rename it to SFMESS.TMP.  (The .TMP extension can be replaced with
any extension except for the original extension of .DAT.  If an
extension other than .TMP is used, you will need to make the
appropriate modifications to the example batch file which appears
below.)
    
    Now that you have a temporary data file, a batch file will need
to be created which you will use for running LAKOTA from the DOS
prompt.  It should look something like this:
      
      @ECHO OFF
      COPY SFMESS.TMP SFMESS.DAT
      LAKOTA
      ERASE SFMESS.DAT

   Quite simply, the batch file copies the temporary user info data
file to SFMESS.DAT.  Next, it executes LAKOTA.  All the options that
are available in LAKOTA when run while logged on the BBS is also
available when LAKOTA is ran locally in this manner.  Next, the
SFMESS.DAT file is erased, just as if LAKOTA were run from within
SPITFIRE.

    Using LAKOTA from the DOS prompt eliminates unnecessary log ons to 
the BBS when the sole purpose of loggin on is to download or upload mail
packets.  It is also much quicker, in that you do not have to go through
the log on process in order to perform mail packet transfers.


͸
 COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON RIP GRAPHICS 
;
        
Q.  My callers do not like the control panel RIP screens due to the
    fact that they draw so slow on the screen.  Are these necessary?
      
A.  The MAINCTRL.RIP, FILECTRL.RIP and MSGCTRL.RIP screens are, like
    any SPITFIRE display file, completely optional.  They are
    included in SPITFIRE v3.4 to provide the capability of making
    a SPITFIRE BBS completely mouse driven.  However, if this is
    not something the Sysop wishes to make available, the RIP
    control panel screens should be removed from the display
    file directory.
 
Q.  I have configured my BBS to allow RIP Graphics.  However, when
    I log on locally to the BBS, only the ANSI (.CLR) display files
    are shown to me.  Why?

A.  The RIP Graphics display screens are not displayed to the
    local monitor.  The RIP Graphic screens are only displayed to
    the remote caller.  Some BBS software packages display the
    RIPscrip language to the screen.  However, SPITFIRE instead
    will display the ANSI equivalent of the RIP screen to the local 
    monitor if it is found in the display directory.  If the ANSI 
    screen is not available, SPITFIRE will then attempt to display the
    ASCII equivalent of the RIP screen to the local monitor provided
    it is found in the display directory.  If neither the ANSI or 
    ASCII equivalent to the RIP display screen can be found in the 
    display directory, in most instances a default SPITFIRE message 
    will be displayed.

Q.  I am currently running my BBS on a computer with a CGA monitor.
    Will I need to upgrade my monitor in order to configure my BBS
    to make RIP Graphics available to my callers?
     
A.  As explained in the previous question, SPITFIRE does not display
    the RIP screens to the local monitor.  Therefore, no special
    equipment is needed for the BBS in order to configure the BBS
    so that RIP Graphics will be available to your callers.  

    However, some programs which are used to create, edit or view
    RIP Graphic screens may require a VGA monitor and mouse.  You will
    need to refer to the documentation for the program you are using to 
    determine if any equipment upgrade is required to use such a program.

Q.  I am confused about what files my callers must download from 
    my BBS in order to view RIP graphics.  Can you clarify this?
    
A.  First of all, a caller must log onto the BBS using a RIP
    terminal program in order to have the option of selecting RIP
    Graphics.  RIPTM154.ZIP is a terminal program which supports the
    RIPscrip language and is written by TeleGraphix Communications, Inc.
    It is suggested that this be available for download from your BBS.
     
    As far as needing to download special files in order to view the
    RIP Graphic display screens you have created for your BBS, this
    is only necessary if you are using "non-standard" Icons.  Icons
    must exist on the callers drive before they will be displayed.
    The RIPscrip language does not transfer the Icon image with the 
    screen but rather sends a request for the Icon.  When the request 
    is received by the terminal program, it is displayed with the RIP 
    Graphic screen - provided it exists in the Icon directory of the RIP
    terminal program.
      
    As discussed in RIPTIPS.DOC, it is for this reason that it is
    recommended the use of Icons should be limited to those most widely 
    available or, you should make the Icons used in your RIP screens 
    available for download to your callers.
      

͸
 SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH 
;

                           Carol Rex, Sysop
                             The AirShow
                            (904)347-5143

   You've Come A Long Way Baby !  AirShow  Board Of The Month....

   Ron, my husband,purchased a little XT with 20 mg hard drive and
1200 baud modem back in 1988.  To test out that modem he dialed up a
local BBS in Waterbury Connecticut.

    I guess all those flashing ANSI screens captured my eye and I was
hooked on BBS'ing.  One of the boards that I regularly called ran
SPITFIRE and I loved the caller friendliness of the software...and
the setup of the board.

    SPITFIRE was what I wanted...Hence The AirShow was born in 1989
with SPITFIRE V2.7.  The name chosen because the husband is a
commercial pilot..  It ran on that little XT for 6 months before a
spanking new 286/16 arrived with 80 mg hard drive and 2400 baud
modem.  My goodness, all that speed and space..!

    AirShow soon outgrew that 80mg SCSI drive and 2400 baud modem
....This does seem to happen, doesn't it?

    A US Robotics 16.8 arrived...and another 80 mg drive.For
Christmas 1991, a 542 mg SCSI was added, so we now have 700 mgs and a
CD ROM.  Trusty Rusty still runs SPITFIRE and The AirShow with
virtually no problems...After moving to Ocala, Florida in 1992 the
board has become quite popular, butting heads with the local WWIV,
Maximus and PC Boards dominating the area....

    I've enjoyed the many 'modem' acquaintances I've met ...and I
especially want to thank Bill Arlowski (Reverse Polarity), Mike
Robinson (The Soft Parade), and Larry Easley (The Ranch House) for
their knowledge and patience.

    Hey, Bill, I still run that Days thing...and guess what?  I
finally learned how to C:\SF\Display   ha ha ha


͸
 SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH 
;        

                            Bruce Vogel
                          Bird House BBS
                          (502) 942-1497                      
                             14400bps

    I am the sysop of Bird House.  I am in the US ARMY (17 years now)
currently stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky as an Instructor on a live
fire range (training basic Trainees) about Defensive Fire.  I have been
married for 10 years now with three lovely children (Sinae, Pamela and
Robert) (each born in a different country (KOREA/USA/GERMANY) so I can
say that my children are from all over the world) who all are interested
in the computer.  My wife Suk feels that if a telephone can not do the 
job then it is not needed, but she supports me very much with running 
a BBS.  Currently Sinae age 9 is already trying to learn the fun part 
of being a SYSOP (look out world another BBS will come forth from this
in the future).<grin>

    I started out in 1982 with a Commodore 64 and for the next few
years or so thought I had the best puter in the world.  Then I upgraded
to a Commodore 128 and bought a 10meg HD and I was in HOG heaven.  In
1988 I traded in the Commodore family for a 286 IBM clone and found out
that I had to start learning stuff all over again.  One small fact I
failed to mentioned was that a modem came with it.<oops>  So the world
of BBS's was opened and I was thrilled being a user and on occasion
helping a friend debug his BBS which was QBBS.  Then one day my friend
said why don't you run your own BBS and said here try this!  (Guess what
that was?  SPITFIRE 3.0) (He said this BBS software was alot easier to
run than most of the other ones on the market).  Well being a doubter I
also checked out Wild Cat and a few others but RUSHED back to SPITFIRE
each time.  Within 2 months I knew that SPITFIRE was the way to go so I
called LONG DISTANT from Berlin Germany (where I was stationed at the
time) to get SPITFIRE registered.  Low and behold I was getting remarks
from users like "wish the other BBS's user friendly as yours".  So all
that I can say is THANK YOU Mike Woltz and family for allowing/supporting 
him with SPITFIRE.  You have made my HOBBIE and possible future JOB a 
great pleasure.

    SPITFIRE, in my opinion, is the Best full featured, easy to operate
and maintain Bulletin Board System available on the market to date, and
for years to come.  Mike and his staff have done a great job in
creating and updating SPITFIRE.  I am proud to be a registeredd user 
of SPITFIRE and agree with Mike, that SPITFIRE sysops are "TOP SHELF
PEOPLE".

    The name Bird House came when I D/L a file and was thinking about
calling the BBS "The Bird Nest" and surprise, surprise a GIF popped out
advertising a BBS called Bird's Nest.  Well that was to close to my
original planned name so I quickly chose Bird House.  By the way
"Vogel" in German means "Bird".  So if and when you call the Bird House
BBS you are calling a REAL BIRD House.<grin>

    I would also like to thank one other person: Steve Newman (Mr
CircuitNet).  Without your un-thankless efforts I more than likely would
not be talking to all these great Sysop's today!  So heres' one for you:
THANK YOU!

͸
  NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS 
;

   A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have
recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems:

Ed's Place BBS...............................903-839-6170...14400 Baud
Eric Hauge, Sysop....................................Whitehouse, Texas

Cyberville...................................703-680-3255...14400 Baud
Darren Whaley, Sysop...............................Dale City, Virginia

The Light-Quest BBS..........................915-858-7561...14400 Baud
Kenny Scott, Sysop......................................El Paso, Texas

Alaska North BBS.............................907-373-1241...38400 Baud
Ernest Hudson, Sysop...................................Wasilla, Alaska

Dragon's Lair................................904-651-1109...14400 Baud
Jerry Joseph, Sysop..................................Shalimar, Florida

Applied-On-Line..............................619-743-3168...14400 Baud
Applied Tooling & Mfg, Sysop.....................Escondido, California

The rock.....................................617-825-1593....2400 Baud
Stanley Osinski, Sysop.......................Dorchester, Massachusetts

Metro Deaf BBS...............................612-673-9974...14400 Baud
Peter Malm, Sysop...............................Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jake & Elwood's BBS..........................606-789-6297...14400 Baud
Mike Patrick, Sysop..............................Paintsville, Kentucky

Cat's Eye BBS................................817-261-8417....2400 Baud
Scott Lancaster, Sysop................................Arlington, Texas

The Dispatch BBS.............................813-547-9088....9600 Baud
John Fahlsing, Sysop...........................St. Petersburg, Florida

The Flaming Star.............................812-898-2561...14400 Baud
April Brown, Sysop................................Terre Haute, Indiana

Rob Roy BBS.................................203-596-1443.....9600 Baud
Rob Roy, Sysop..................................Waterbury, Connecticut

Billster's World.............................205-435-7064...14400 Baud
William Wood, Sysop..............................Jacksonville, Alabama

Triumph BBS..................................907-488-9148....2400 Baud
Darryl Abshear, Sysop...............................North Pole, Alaska

Micro Mania..................................612-56-00811...19200 Baud
Marco Nussbaumer, Sysop............................Stanmore, Australia

Speedy Creek BBS.............................306-773-9313...14400 Baud
Art Morse, Sysop...................Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada

WildCat BBS..................................351-1-8490319...9600 Baud
Filipe Ferreira, Sysop...........................1495 Lisboa, Portugal

Mega BBS.....................................031-867-578....57600 Baud
Xatzikostas Kostantinos, Sysop....................Thessaloniki, Greece

The Far Side BBS.............................616-894-5909...14400 Baud
Steve Carlson, Sysop...............................Whitehall, Michigan

The Midnight Byte............................512-358-2520...14400 Baud
Allan Amerson, Sysop...................................Beeville, Texas

VE3WBZ BBS...................................905-722-6301....2400 Baud
Peter Coggon, Sysop...................Jackson's Point, Ontario, Canada

Moonshadow BBS...............................513-583-0033...14400 Baud
John Leighton, Sysop..................................Cincinnati, Ohio

KULTURDATA-Mailbox...........................+75-232-6459...14400 Baud
Wolfgang Zanghellini, Sysop..............Schaan, Liechtenstein, Europe

M & M Factory................................716-344-4670....2400 Baud
Mark Ganzhorn, Sysop.................................Batavia, New York

The Fundamental Truth BBS....................207-784-1304....2400 Baud
Ron Meldrum, Sysop.....................................Lewiston, Maine

Far Side of the Sun..........................815-477-8263...14400 Baud
William Watling, Sysop..........................Crystal Lake, Illinois

Burps and Toejam BBS.........................708-428-0519...14400 Baud
Michael James, Sysop.............................East Dundee, Illinois


   In addition, there were 8 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems
registered.  These private SPITFIRE BBS's included registrations
from: Pittsburg, California; Houston, Texas; Bakersfield, California;
Peachtree City, Georgia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota;
LaCrosse, Wisconsin and Topeka, Kansas.

   There were 18 registrations for whom registration information was
incomplete.  These included BBS's in: Great Falls, Montana; Vista,
California; Nashville, Tennessee; Saginaw, Michigan; Hellertown,
Pennsylvania; Seoul, South Korea; Pikeville, Kentucky; Fort Wayne,    
Indiana; Indianapolis, Indiana; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Lancaster,
Pennsylvania; Warragul Victoria, Australia; Haslet, Texas; Macon, 
North Carolina; Cocoa, Florida; Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada; 
Houston, Texas and Petaluma, California.


   The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is 
largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's policy of accepting on-line
Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations.


   JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions!  
Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS 
or The Mother Board BBS.  
