




                      RIME(tm), an Introduction


This part of the primer deals with how you, as a user, can 
get the most from the RIME(tm) network.  It was written in 
response to your requests and will hopefully answer your 
questions on how to use the Relay to your best advantage.

RIME(tm) has been in existence since early 1988. It was 
started by Bob Shuck and was originally composed of a small 
group of 10 or so Washington D.C. BBSs.  Dissatisfaction 
with the software that the then "UpLink" network was using, a 
casual conversation with Kip Compton and the addition of a 
board in New York gave birth to PCRelay Software and the 
RIME(tm) Network.














As you read this text please remember that if there is a 
subject you do not understand, the NewUsers conference on 
RIME(tm) boards is always available for all questions.  If 
your sysop does not carry the NewUser conference, why not ask 
him/her to do so. Never be embarrassed to ask a question on 
this network.  We were all new users once too.  No question 
is ever considered too dumb . . . and really, RIME(tm) people 
are a friendly lot!













                              WHAT IS RIME(tm)?

RIME(tm) is a world wide network of electronic bulletin board 
systems (otherwise known as a BBS) that join hands to form an 
electronic mail system.  Messages you enter on one BBS are 
copied to another BBS.  That BBS in turn copies your message 
along with it's own messages to yet another BBS.  This is 
known as echoing or relaying.  When you leave a message or 
"mail" on a participating board, that message is copied to 
all other boards that participate in the network.  The fact 
that your messages travel from bulletin board to bulletin 
board is the only thing that makes your message different 
from entering a message on a purely local bulletin board.

The common goal: To provide a environment for the friendly 
exchange of messages with others all over the world.










RIME(tm) provides user support for a wide variety of special 
interest groups and product support for a wide variety of 
products. In fact, if you want to find a wider variety of 
subjects you'd have to join a pay network like The Source or 
CompuServe.

From all parts of the US, Canada, Europe, South America and 
the Far East you'll find members of RIME(tm).







                            Terminology:

NODE: A bulletin board system (BBS) that calls another 
bulletin board system (called a Hub) in order to  transfer 
mail.  A node does not receive mail directly from any other 
BBS. (that is, no one calls it to transfer mail.)

HUB:  A bulletin board system (BBS) that may or may not call 
another Hub to transfer mail, but is called by one or more 
nodes to transfer mail.

REGIONAL HUB:  A Hub that does call another Hub to transfer 
mail. It is called a Regional Hub because when the network 
was designed, a Hub was placed in each of the major regions 
to minimize long distance phone charges.

SUPER-REGIONAL HUB: One of several Hubs located in different 
geographic locations. These Hubs are appointed by the 
Steering Committee. Generally, Regional Hubs call a 
Super-Regional Hub, which in turn, calls the NetHub.

NETHUB:The "home" of RIME(tm), operated in Bethesda, Maryland
by Bonnie Anthony. All Super-Regional Hubs call the NetHub 
for their mail packets.


                            Terminology:


ID CODE:A one to eight character string which contains 
letters only. Each node has a unique IDCODE which is used to 
identify that node in the network.  The IDCODE appears at the
bottom of every message that is "relayed" thruout the 
network.

HUBID:An ID for a HUB which always starts with the first 
three letters HUB.  A HUB ID is not used to identify a node, 
but rather the Hub that a group of nodes call to transfer 
mail.

Then there are the conference hosts.  A conference host is in 
charge of a particular conference (defined later), just as 
the Steering Committee is in charge of the network.

On the RIME(tm) Network, coordinating the conferences is a 
big job, and is currently handled by several people.  You 
should familiarize yourself with who does what:












The unsung heros of ANY network are the sysops! These are the 
people who go to great expense providing equipment and phone 
lines so you can converse with the world. The sysop is always 
the first line of defense in case a problem arises.










                        HOW DOES MY MAIL GET TO ME?

Each day your local bulletin board calls its Regional Hub, 
usually in the middle of the night.  At that time all new 
messages users have entered on the BBS are uploaded to the 
Regional Hub.  Then, your board downloads a packet containing 
all the public messages from every other BBS on the network, 
plus the private, routed and encrypted messages for any user 
who has a private mailbox on the board.  (The specialized 
types of messages are described below.)

The Regional Hub takes this packet and adds it to packets 
from other boards connected to it and creates larger, more 
complete packets.  These packets contain messages, files and 
requests from each board that calls the Regional Hub.  At 
least once a day, usually twice, the Regional Hub calls the 
Super-Regional Hub which calls the NetHub.

The NetHub takes the incoming packet of hub mail and returns 
to the Super-Regional Hub all the mail it received since that 
Hub last called.  The Nethub then adds the new mail it 
received to the waiting mail for all other Hubs.  This is all
done automatically.











The Regional Hub takes all the mail it received from the 
Super-Regional Hub and adds it to the packet for your board 
(and all the other boards connected to it.)

Then you call your local board and either download the mail 
to read using your off-line reader or read and reply to the 
new mail on the board.








                          FEATURES AVAILABLE TO USERS

Some of the features, such as file sends and requests are not 
normally directly available to users.  However, if a unique 
file is mentioned in a conference message, you might ask your 
sysop if he could obtain that file for you.

Please remember that most Hubs call long distance for their 
mail and files increase the time and therefore expense of 
file transfers.  Do not request files that you could obtain 
from one of the local boards in your area.

The important feature, for you, of PCRelay software is its 
ability to transfer messages within a conference area, 
between bulletin boards.

A conference is a message area that is specific to one 
particular topic of interest.  There are almost 300 
conferences currently defined on RIME. Your BBS probably does 
not carry all of the conferences as the disk space required 
for this may be high.


Your sysop may carry conferences that are both relayed and 
not relayed.  If you have any questions about whether a 
particular conference is relayed, please ask your sysop.

When you enter your message in a relayed conference you may 
be asked if you wish to "ECHO" the message.  If you say "Yes" 
your message will be sent out to all other participating 
bulletin board Systems.  If you answer "No"  the message 
remains on your local bulletin board and is not transferred 
within the network. When you relay your message, please 
remember that it is being copied to over 850 boards.

Although there will be reference numbers on the message, it 
is considered polite to quote a few lines from the message 
you are responding to.  That helps the recipient remember the 
"conversation" even if he reads the message days later.

Please be aware that every participating bulletin board 
system will have a different set of reference numbers for the 
same set of messages.  This is due to the different times 
that each board started receiving the particular conference. 
Therefore you should not reference a message number unless 
you are talking with someone on the same bulletin board.




                              USING OFF-LINE READERS

Off-line readers are a method by which you may read messages 
from a BBS while off-line (i.e. not logged on.)  You start by 
logging on to a bulletin board, briefly, to download your 
messages. Then, by using one of the off-line reader programs, 
you may spend all the time you need reading messages, 
entering replies and any new messages you may come up with.  
When you are finished, you log back on to the BBS, briefly, 
in order to upload your replies and any new messages you may 
have created.

The process of uploading and downloading messages may be done
in one phone call.  Log on to the BBS, upload your new 
replies, download the new messages that have been entered 
since the last time you were on, then log off the BBS. Those 
of you who call long distance may prefer this approach as it 
helps to reduce long distance changes by doing the whole 
process in one phone call.












The use of an off-line reader may save you telephone charges 
by also shortening your daily total on-line time, and, at the 
same time, it allows more users per day to access your local 
BBS.










USER COURTESIES

Did you know that if you use all upper case letters, that 
other users think you are shouting at them?  Remember to turn 
off your CAPS LOCK key when you go to enter a message.

Some users think that the way to get started is to answer 
every message they see.  That sometimes works but often it 
serves to annoy the other users who are already engaged in 
some kind of dialog in the conference.  When you enter a 
conference for the first time, feel free to say hello and 
introduce yourself.  Then sit back and read a few days worth 
of mail.  In that time you will probably discover the trends 
of the conference and that you have something substantial to 
say as well.

The conference host is a valuable asset in a conference.  The
hosts run the conference, introduce topics of general 
interest to the conference members to enlarge discussions, 
oversees that the messages stay on topic, provides 
information and acts as a liason between users and the powers 
that be above him/her.











When a CH (conference host) asks you to end a thread, or move
the discussion along, please be aware that they have been 
enpowered to enforce the conference rules in their 
conference.  If you feel that you are being treated unfairly, 
there are recourses open to you. These do not involve public 
discussion in the conference itself.















                               NOTE:


If you think that you have a good idea for a conference, or 
would like to host a conferences, please send a R/O message 
to James Wall (IDCODE=DREAM)in the COMMON conference. To 
start a conference you need to have the topic clearly 
defined, a conference host available that would be suitable 
for that conference, and 10 nodes and 5 hubs willing to agree 
to carry that conference.  James will be more than happy to 
help you get started in publisizing your idea and seeing if 
there is interest on the network for that topic.
