Possibilities - UltraChat Released 3/94

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

ULTRACHAT RELEASED 3/94
-----------------------

*** From March 1994 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1994 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

The eSoft project to create the ultimate entertainment chat facility has 
been underway for nearly two years.  You've only been able to hear rumors 
and see beta versions of this software up to now, but the release of 
UltraChat 1.0 is at hand. UltraChat 1.0 will ship the week of March 14, and 
you can place your order for it NOW!

First The Special Deal!
-----------------------

UltraChat has a list price of $195, but to show our appreciation for those 
TBBS sysops who have long wanted to take TBBS into the entertainment chat 
arena we are providing a special "thank you for waiting" discount offer for 
90 days.

If you are a REGISTERED TBBS sysop (i.e. sent in your registration card) you 
may purchase UltraChat until June 15, 1994 for the special price of $90.  
Note: YOUR TBBS 2.2 MUST BE REGISTERED OR YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS 
SPECIAL $90 PRICE!  You must call this order in directly to eSoft so that 
they can verify your TBBS serial number is registered.  This special offer 
is ONLY available by direct phone ordering.

Does UltraChat Require TDBS?
----------------------------

UltraChat requires TBBS version 2.2, it will not operate on earlier versions 
of TBBS.  The chat functions of UltraChat do not require any other option 
module, just UltraChat and TBBS.  However, the survey and matchmaker 
functions of UltraChat are provided as TDBS programs (source code is 
included so you can modify them if you wish) and thus they do require TDBS 
version 1.2.

In addition, UltraChat has a TDBS API (Application Program Interface) which 
is designed to allow TDBS programs to be written for integration into an 
UltraChat environment.  Instructions on the use of this API is included on 
the UltraChat release disk.  So you will certainly see many third party TDBS 
programs appear in. the coming months designed for use with UltraChat.

What's the Big Deal with UltraChat?
-----------------------------------

UltraChat brings the TBBS philosophy of total flexibility to the area of 
entertainment chat.  In this world, where customizing every aspect of a chat 
system to match the format of your chat system is required, nothing has ever 
provided the power of UltraChat.

UltraChat ships with emulations of the most widely used chat systems (DLX, 
Oracomm, and Major BBS) so you can simulate any competitive chat systems in 
your area.  You may even allow your users to choose the chat format they 
personally like best, and interact with users who are using a different 
format.  Each will think the other is using the same format they are.

But the real power of UltraChat is the same as the power of TBBS itself.  
That is, the power it gives YOU to build the exact chat system format you 
want.  You may alter one of the supplied emulations to add just a few 
features, or change just a few prompts.  Or, you may build your own totally 
unique chat environment just by editing the UltraChat configuration file.

So Give Me Some Details...
--------------------------

Like TBBS, UltraChat provides you with a "toolbox" of functions which you 
use to build chat commands in the exact format you wish.  You decide the 
syntax as well as the command action and display text formatting.  For 
example there are enough variations of the "who's online" function available 
to allow you to build nearly any format display, including or excluding any 
users you wish, and most user information you wish.

All UltraChat commands, prompts and text display strings are 100% 
configurable. Each user (or group of users) may have a different 
configuration if you wish. Users with differing configurations may interact 
in areas which are configured to overlap.  In this case each will think the 
other has the same configuration as they do. Which configuration a user 
receives may be conditioned on many parameters such as Priv, Flags, Date, 
Line, Time, Name, Language etc.  It is even possible to have "Joe User" 
automatically receive a totally different UltraChat configuration on any 
Friday the 13th.

All output text strings may use insertion parameters to display variable 
context related information.  Over 50 insertion parameters are available to 
display information from both the local and remote users as well as system 
data (such as time remaining).

When a user is in TBBS, chat message data will be displayed at any menu or 
during message reading at the read pause prompt.  Chat may be entered from 
these locations as well without disturbing the TBBS operation in progress.  
This allows, for example, a caller to look up biographical information on 
the sender of a message they may be reading in a TYPE=6 TBBS command!

UltraChat also has Moan Macros.  Some other software calls these "action 
words" but we call them what we think they mostly are.  UltraChat extends 
the concept of a "canned sequence" keyed to a single word beyond anything 
else on the market.  The flexibility in this area of UltraChat configuration 
alone will provide many hours of playful enjoyment.

In the area of accounting and authorization, UltraChat fully respects TBBS 
billing class timing and will exit to a menu when a specified billing class 
time has expired.  This allows use of Billing Classes to limit chat access 
separately from other TBBS use if you wish.

List of UltraChat functions...
------------------------------

To illustrate the power of UltraChat, here is a bullet item list of the 
tools it provids to build your system.

WHO command types:

Display all users on current channel/conference

Display all users on any channel/conference

Display all users on system in or out of chat 

Display 3 line Bio Info for:

New Users (reverse USERLOG.BBS order)

Individual specified name

Alphabetical by Name (Forward or Reverse with Flag mask for group matching)

Auto-Lookup of FROM: name at read message prompt 

Note: You fully define the display format for each type of WHO command you 
implement with a picture statement.  You may include or exclude such items 
as user name, location, conference channel or name, 3 Line Bio, user's 
"announce" string, etc.  Options are available to show or suppress invisible 
users and/or idle lines.  May be conditioned by Priv, Flags, etc.

EXIT command types:

Exit all the way back to the TBBS menu

Exit from private back to public chat

Do Type 10 logoff

Logoff w/o display (immediate drop) 

Note:  There are three exit "announce" strings:

Announce Logged off/dropped carrier

Announce Left chat to return to TBBS menu

Announce Left this channel/conference for another 

HELP Commands:

9 commands definable with separate display files.

9 commands definable with text string display to implement commands such as 
"Version" and "system name". 

SEND Message Commands:

Send specific message to specific user

Send message to ALL.  (Like all UCHAT commands this may be set to appear or 
not based on Priv, Flags, etc.)

Page user (sends canned message to specific user) 

CHANGE Channel/Conference commands:

Go to Public Channel by number.  You may have up to 65,536 public channels 
per group.  The sysop defines the number of public channels.  You may also 
indicate that channel numbers higher than a specified number are unlisted 
public channels (semi-private).  Number of channels available may also be 
conditioned by Priv, Flags, Language, etc.

Go to Named Conference.  Conference Names may be defined by the sysop or by 
users if sysop allows it.  A user may only access conferences which are in 
his group.  Sysop defined named conferences may also be restricted by Priv, 
Flags, Language, etc.

Go to a user's private channel (if sysop allows each user a private 
channel).  This may be conditioned to require an invitation or a password by 
the channel's owner.

Go to private chat with a specific user.

"Monitor" a secondary channel.  Allows eavesdropping on a channel other than 
the one you are on (in addition to the one you are on). 

Channel definitions:

254 groups allowed.  A special "ALL" group allows presence in all groups for 
sysop.

65,536 numbered public channels are allowed per group.  Named conferences 
may share numbers with channels or be in addition to the numbered channels 
at the sysop's discretion.  Private channel (1 per user) and private 1:1 
chat. Total possible channel combinations allow for defining over 16 million 
unique channel locations. 

PRIVATE Chat initiation Command Types:

Ask user to chat and wait for him to arrive.

Ask user to chat and continue where you are until user accepts.  Then you 
are immediately placed in 1:1 private chat with each other.

Ask user to chat.  Remote user gets Yes/No invitation.  If he says yes, you 
enter 1:1 private chat immediately.  A no answer informs  you that your 
invitation was declined.

What About Linking?
-------------------

UltraChat 1.0 will have the normal, basic, linking capability of most chat 
software on the market today.  However, it will NOT have the UltraLink (the 
total link of all features across multiple systems) super linking capability 
that has been discussed as a design goal of the UltraChat option module.  
The implementation and full testing of UltraLink will take several more 
months, and I felt that the release should not be delayed when the rest of 
the product was clearly ready to go.  Because of this omission, UltraChat 
1.1 will be a free upgrade to registered UltraChat 1.0 licensees when it is 
released. 

UltraChat links can be automatically generated on a timed basis by using 
dialing scripts.  Like InterChange, UltraLink can be configured to place a 
link call to another system automatically at a specified time on specified 
days.  The link may also be given an ending time and will automatically shut 
down at the specified time.

Summary
-------

I hope that this level of detail about UltraChat will answer most questions 
of the "will UltraChat do..." variety.  In general we have tried to make the 
answer yes in nearly every case.

This project has taken a long time because I decided early in the project 
that UltraChat would not be ready to release until it was good enough that 
existing chat systems which were using other brands of software and had 
profitable, public access systems of 16 lines or more could convert to 
TBBS/UltraChat and be making MORE money with UltraChat than they made with 
their old software in 90 days or less.

That's the engineer in me -- even though I freely admit that I don't 
understand chat, I do understand how to MEASURE if it works in the real 
world.  UltraChat has now met this goal several times with several systems 
during its beta test period, and it hasn't failed to achieve it for any 
system which converted to UltraChat during the beta period.

I'm proud of UltraChat and I wish to take time to publicly thank Bob Hartman 
who has headed up this project for the past 17 months.  He put up with a lot 
of demands from me, as I tried to design a product which met the TBBS 
standards in an area I don't have a personal understanding of and then left 
him responsible for the day-to-day details of making it happen.  But the 
resulting product has clearly met and exceeded all of my expectations.  The 
worlds of TBBS and entertainment chat systems have finally met.  Most likely 
neither will ever be the same again.

PS0394-1
Rev. 3/94

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

