        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 1995                  
           Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE     
             Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496      
                   28800 through 1200 Bps            
                          2 Nodes                    
                                                     
        ͼ 
          
                    Edited by Jacque Shipley
       The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 57600 Bps
                Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede
      Roam This Fertile Land -  (515) 288-8755 - 14400 Bps
         Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz
                  Other Contributions As Noted


ͻ
    Notes from the author of SPITFIRE!   Ŀ
ͼ 
  



SFNET International Hub
-----------------------

   ATTENTION - SFNET Area Code Hubs:  As you should be aware, the
hours of the SFNET International Hub are 10:30 pm to 7:00 am (Central
Time Zone).  I would like to ask your cooperation in placing your
calls within such hours.  I don't think there is a day that goes by
when there isn't at least 1 SFNET call that comes in outside of such
hours.  Considering that phone line is used for other purposes during
the day, those calls outside of such hours become a real nuiance in
the Woltz home.  In the event you missed your normal mail run, then
we will be more than happy to put the SFNET International Hub up for
you to call if you will just phone us voice and ask us to do so.  I
thank you so very much for your cooperation regarding this matter.


SPITFIRE v3.51
--------------

   I was able to spend some time this weekend working on SPITFIRE
v3.51.  I am not making any promise, however, it is my intention to
get SPITFIRE v3.51 finished and released sometime during November.
Frankly, it would have been finished a long, long time ago but the
vast majority of my time is spent replying to messages rather than
writing code.

   Until next time, smile on your brother, everybody get together
and try to love one another.


                            Best wishes...
                            Mike Woltz

                            [ John 3:3 ]ͻ
                             Jesus answered, and said unto him,  Ŀ
                             Verily, verily, I say unto thee,     
                             Except a man be born again, he       
                             cannot see the kingdom of God.       
                            ͼ 
                              


͸
 SPITFIRE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET! 
;
   
   
  SPITFIRE goes surfin'!  That's right, SPITFIRE Sysops can now find
SPITFIRE and the latest SF utilities on the Internet.  October marked
the debut of SPITFIRE Sysops, Ric Burlet and Tom Miller, arrival on
the World Wide Web.  Both web pages are a dedication, not only to
their own BBS systems, but to the entire SPITFIRE project.
  
  SPITFIRE Sysops with Internet access will find these sites an
excellent resource.  SPITFIRE and SPITFIRE utilities are available
for immediate download.  Sysops will now be have the capability of
keeping current with SF utilities, often by simply placing a call
through their local Internet provider.


  TAKE A BYTE'S SPITFIRE BBS ON THE WEB
  -------------------------------------
   
  We'll begin by visiting Ric Burlet's TaKe A ByTe SPITFIRE BBS web 
page.  The address to reach our first Internet destination is:
    
    http://www.cris.com/~ricb
    
  The page header announces, "Download the Latest SPITFIRE utility's
right here on the WEB".  This is followed with a counter which shows
how many times the web page has been accessed since October 7th and
a brief description of the many features available from TaKe A ByTe BBS.

  The first HyperText link from the page lists the shareware version
of SPITFIRE and a wide assortment of new SF utilities that are
available for download from TaKe A ByTe's web site.  The GIF shows a
globe with the text 'SPITFIRE ON THE WEB' radiating from the globe.
To download any file from the list, simply click on the file name
to initiate the file transfer.  The next link provides a list of the
new files (from the last 10 days) which are available for download
from TaKe A ByTe BBS.  The third link lists the message conferences
available on TaKe A ByTe BBS.  The message conference list includes
both the local message conferences and the SFNET message conferences.
The last main link shows the CD-Rom disc that is currently online at
TaKe A ByTe BBS and other discs that are available for requests.

  Next, the web page gives information about TaKe A ByTe BBS and the
phone numbers for connecting directly to either of its two nodes.

  Visitors have the option of leaving Ric Burlet mail through the direct 
e-mail link available from TaKe A ByTe's web page.

  Netscape v1.22 can also be downloaded from the web page.  Other 
activities include links to other Web HOT Spots such as The Whitehouse, 
Guide to Writing HTML, and Stock Market Quotes.  Links to other Internet
Resources include such sites as: PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites list, 
PC Magazine Home Page, Netsurfers Digest, USENET FAQs list, December 
Internet List, Lycos search, Providers of Commercial Internet Access, 
Archie PlexForm, Internet Resources List, as well as several other web
sites.


  THE SWAMP THANG BBS - SPITT'N FIRE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
  --------------------------------------------------------

   Our next stop on our Internet journey is to Tom Miller's The Swamp
Thang BBS web page.  To arrive here, just use the following Internet
address:

   http://www.swamp.com
   
   After connecting, an enchanting though somewhat eerie GIF of the
Louisiana swamp lands welcomes you to the Swamp Thang BBS web page.
The slogan Spitt'n Fire On The World Wide Web appears along with 
phone numbers to The Swamp Thang's three nodes within the swamp land
picture.
   
   A counter reports what visitor number you are since 09/23/95.
This is followed by a description of what this web site has to offer
(explained more fully below), some general information about The
Swamp Thang BBS and a detail of the system resources which are
available on this BBS.

   The first HyperText link connects you to the SPITFIRE File Area.
A graphic rendition of an old World War II SPITFIRE fighter plane
appears at the header.  Next, Tom extends a special thanks to Mike
and Ann Woltz and their family, followed by a 'Bible' quote.  Thank
yous are also given to all the 3rd party programmers for their
contribution in making SPITFIRE a 'top-shelf, easy-to-run software'.
Individual files are not listed due to the number of files available
from this site.  However, a search tool is provided for entering a
keyword which will search and display any files which correspond to
the search text entered.  Once files which match the search criteria
are displayed, they can then be downloaded by clicking on the file
name to begin the file transfer process.

  The second link displays the latest 'Keeping In Touch' SPITFIRE
support newsletter.  The next link relates to SPITFIRE's exclusive
SFNet Mail Service.  From here, both the latest SFNet Node List and
SFNet Conference list can be viewed.  The fourth link provides a
means for obtaining SPITFIRE and/or SFNet support as well as
providing feedback on the web site.  It is possible from this link to
directly e-mail the Sysop, the co-Sysop, and remote Sysops of The
Swamp Thang BBS (which includes SFNet's Moderator of the Moderators
Conference), SFNet's Secretary and the Webmaster.  The fifth link,
connects you to The Swamp Thang's ftp site, where SPITFIRE files can
be either be uploaded or downloaded.  All uploads go into the
incoming directory.  Below the public directory resides the SPITFIRE
directory which contains the entire list of SPITFIRE files which are
available for download from this site.

  A recent addition to this web page is the Guestbook, where visitors
are encouraged to sign in and leave a comment to Tom.  Comments from
previous visitors can be viewed from here also.

  The web page also supports links to other sites which include
Yahoo, Star Vector and Father of Shareware.


  Ric and Tom have pioneered putting SPITFIRE on the Internet.  No
doubt there will be more to come but these Sysops deserve a special
thanks for laying the groundwork and for making SPITFIRE on the
Internet a reality.  Visit these web sites and let them know you
appreciate their efforts in making SPITFIRE and SF utilities
available on the information superhighway.  Sysops from around the
world now have a new avenue for keeping current with the latest
SPITFIRE products and receiving help from one another.  

  Thanks guys!!


͸
 CREATING YOUR OWN BBS WEB PAGE 
;
 
  I was just playing around to see if it could be done.. and believe
it or not, it was easy.  HTML (HyperText Markup Language) just uses
simple codes to tell the remote how to display the text (or image).
You can get really involved in it, or keep it REALLY SIMPLE.

  I've really enjoyed creating this page, as my contribution to the
SPITTFIRE project.. and encourage (and will help) others to do the
same.

  P.S.   Any PC ARTISTS out there? or if anyone has SPITFIRE
graphics, please mail them my way. (rburlet@neosoft.com) or
(ricb@cris.com)

  OK... would you like to create one yourself... here's how it's
done.


THE MAKING OF A SIMPLE SPITFIRE WEB PAGE:
----------------------------------------

   First, you will need to find an Internet provider that allows
personal WEB pages. I have mine at cris.com, which really makes it
easy to set up.  At cris, while at the UNIX prompt simply type
'makewww' this will create a public_html directory and change all the
necessary permissions to allow outside access to files in your
public_html directory only (contact your service provider for info on
how this is done at your site).

   Then create an HTML document called index.html and upload it to
your public_html directory.  (You can change the .htm extension to
.html once you upload it by typing 'mv index.htm index.html').  Now
when someone connects to your site by http://www.cris.com/~your user
name, index.html will be displayed.

-----------------------------------------
THE BARE BONES SFITFIRE WEB PAGE DOCUMENT:
-----------------------------------------


* THE TITLE & HEADER AREA:
-------------------------

<TITLE>Your SPITFIRE BBS on the WEB</TITLE> - title only, not displayed.
<H1>Your SPITFIRE BBS on the WEB</H1>       - this is the BIG HEADER.
Welcome to the world of HTML.               - text in the document.
<b>This is a BOLD paragraph.</b><P>         - BOLD text can be turned on
And this one is NOT.<P>                       with <b>, & off with </b>.


* LINKING TO OTHER DOCUMENTS:
----------------------------

<A HREF="sffiles.html">SPITFIRE DOWNLOADS</A>Download SF Utils here!

   - this line will create a clickable area (SPITFIRE DOWNLOADS) that
     will display sffiles.html to the user. You can create that manually,
     but I would suggest for now to use BBS2HTML and SF2HTML (Available
     at Buffalo Creek)


* IN-LINE IMAGES:
----------------
<IMG SRC=spitfire.gif>

   - this line will display SPITFIRE.GIF to the user.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

   If you are interested in creating your own page, I would recommend
reading the INTERNET PEARLS Beginners Guide to HTML, which I will
upload to Buffalo Creek BBS as IPERLS24.ZIP. You may also want to
grab BBS2HTML, SF2HTML and SFBBSWWW.ZIP which contain all the files
needed to convert SFFILES into an HTML document and has some examples
and HELP TEXT.

  Hope this helps someone...


Article contributed by Ric Burlet (ricb@cris.com)
                       TaKe A ByTe BBS A0504002
                       http://www.cris.com/~ricb
                       (504) 392-9604  393-9633


͸
 SPITFIRE BOARD-OF-THE-MONTH 
;

                        Michael MacAfee
                        Mac's Place BBS
                        602-241-0256


  I was both surprised and honored to receive a call from Mike
Woltz telling me I was selected for SPITFIRE BOTM.  I am not quite
sure what it is that I have done to deserve this recognition but it
really makes my day!

  My first computer was a Commadore 64 with a cassette deck.  It
was around 1978-79 and I remember spending hours upon hours typing in
those magazine programs line by line.  I hit the big time when I
purchased a Commodore 128 with a disk drive, (had to use a paper
punch to get to use both sides of a disk), and it had 1 meg cartridge
for extra memory.  I finally graduated to an IBM Clone 8086 and a
local Sysop, Robbie Robinson, talked me into trying out SPITFIRE.  I
have been with it since and have no intentions of changing.  I now
have 2 nodes operating SPITFIRE, (one under OS/2) and both nodes
support 28.8 bauds with over a Gig of files, not counting the 2
CD-Rom Drives.  Both systems are 486 DX4 100mhz and have been very
reliable for the past year.

  I am a Criminal Investigator for the State of Arizona Attorney
Generals Office and am in charge of Computor Forensics.  Often I will
have to access my Board from other locations within the State for
files needed to complete an investigation.  SPITFIRE has never let me
down.  I have demonstrated its features to both State and Federal
Agencies and highly recommend it for its ease of operation and
dependability.

  It has not always been easy.  I have gone through the drive
crashes, the modem fries, and a good deal of cross linked files.  I
wouldn't change for anything.  The SPITFIRE support is the best
around.  I can't begin to mention all the people who have helped me
in keeping this system going, and a lot of thanks to Mike Woltz in
making a great system even better.


͸
 SPITFIRE SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH 
;        

                             Bob Hindal
                            Bear facts ][
                           (515) 287-2008
                          FidoNet: 1:290/26
                          XeroNet: 131:5150/100
                          CNFDNet: 169:515/7

  Once upon a time, many, many years ago, in a land far, far away...
(Oops!  Wrong story!)

  I guess the best place to begin would be the beginning, huh?  (It
really gets confusing if you start in the middle or near the end.)

  It all started back in 1987 with a brand new AST 286 and a 300 baud
modem.  There was this new craze out there and I wanted in on it from
the beginning.  (That was the time that they said we would never need
any more than 640K and 40 Meg in hard disk space, remember?)  After
getting my first (and definately my last) 2400 baud modem, I thought
I had a system that would have made NASA jealous.  I made a call to
my first BBS one night and that happened to be Buffalo Creek.  As a
matter of fact, I got a personnal phone call from Mike Woltz that
night. (I won't go into details, but let's just say that I learned a
very valuable lesson on calling boards then. <G>)  After talking with
Mike Woltz for a short time, I was in awe, I guess you could say.  I
mean, I was actually talking to someone who, as far as I was
concerned, knew more about these machines than I ever thought I would
be able to grasp on to.  He was doing things with computers back then
that I didn't even know could be done.  For some strange reason,
unbeknownst (I think I hurt myself with that one, Jacque!) to me,
Mike and I hit it off right away.  That's where I got the bug!
(Don't worry, that bug is gone now.  I don't have any more of them on
my system.)

  After talking with Mike a few more times, I decided to register
SPITFIRE and give putting up a BBS a shot.  That was the best $35
investment I ever made.  The more I talked to Mike, the more I
learned and the more I WANTED to learn.  I remember many a night
talking to Mike on the phone about SPITFIRE and beta testing all the
new additions and changes he had been making during the early days
and that he still continues to make to this day.  Just when you think
it can't get any easier to operate and configure, he adds even more
to it to make it what it has become today.  Still the best value of
any BBS software for the money.

  Around the first part of the year in 1988, U.S. Robotics came out
with the USR Courier 9600 Baud modem.  Through the SysOp deal that
USR was offering then, I purchased their new modem and was on my way.
I was now at 10 Mhz on a 286 with 2 Meg of memory and a 9600 baud
modem.  Next to Mike's BBS, I had one of the fastest systems in Des
Moines. (Back then, that was a pretty big deal for someone who had no
idea what he was doing.)  I put up my first BBS called Bear Facts 
with the help of Jacque Shipley (now the SysOp of The Mother Board
BBS in Grimes, Iowa).  As my Co-SysOp at the time, she brought
alot of new ideas and personality to the BBS.  I have never thanked
her properly for all that she taught me along the way.  Thanks,
Jacque!!
  
  After running the board for a few months, I had to take Bear Facts
down in June of 1988, due to personal things happening in my life
at the time.  I was raising 2 boys alone (ages 6 and 7) and in the
middle of all of this, I never forgot everyone who had helped me to
get to where I was back then with the BBS.

  I called Mike again in 1993, after staying in contact with him
since the beginning, and talked to him about getting back into the
BBS scene.  Everything had seemed to straighten out in my life and I
was ready to give it another whirl.  I started out again helping Mike
to answer messages on his board at the time as part of the Spifire
Technical Support Team.  He loaned me a 286 Packard Bell Computer
with a 40 Meg Hard Drive and a 2400 USR modem.  Shortly after that I
bought a Zoom 14400 modem and decided to try running a BBS again.  I
started messing with SPITFIRE again and couldn't believe the changes
it had gone through since I last operated it in 1988.  That was the
first time I had ever dealt with doors for SPITFIRE.  It terrified me
to think I would have to learn it all from scratch.  It took me about
20 minutes to realize why I started using SPITFIRE in the first
place.  It was as easy to learn then as it ever was and still is.

  Slowly, but surely, I have continued to add to the BBS to get where
I am at today.  Bear Facts ][ is now running on a self-built APEX
Pentium 120 Mhz with 4 850 Meg Conner Hard Drives, 2 CD-Roms (which I
am still in the process of putting on-line), an Iomega Zip Drive (100
Meg) and 32 meg of memory running under Windows '95.  I have 2 nodes
(one local at the present time).  I will be adding another node soon.

  I am also the IZC of Xeronet, a net I started over a year ago that
is dedicated solely to programming support.  It is a network that
allows programmers to support their software and where callers can
talk to the programmers directly without having to figure out how to
get ahold on them.  It is still small but growing continuously.

  I have always held one idea in mind that Mike taught me years ago.
I have always run Bear Facts ][ the way I, myself, would like to see
a BBS run if I was calling out as often as I used to in the early
days.  It doesn't matter the qauntity of callers to a BBS as what the
quality of that BBS is.  You can't please everyone all the time, no
matter how hard you try or what you do to attract callers.  I would
much rather have 100 great callers than 400 not-so- great callers, if
you know what I mean.  I will continue to strive to be the best
SPITFIRE SysOp that I can be.

  I would like to thank Mike, once again, for writing SPITFIRE and
allowing me to be his friend and teaching me what it takes to become
a SPITFIRE SysOp.  And I would also like to thank Jacque, (once
again, again <G>) for all that she has helped me to learn about the
world of being a SysOp.  The other people I would like to thank
include Ross Cassell (for all the times he listened to my suggestions
and comments for programs), Jon Goering (who taught me as much as I
ever taught him), Della Moore (who's bright and spunky attitude has
always made for brighter moments in message reading <G>),  David
Koons (who is my partner in J.A.M. Entertainment Software and a very
close and crazy friend), Dennis Spencer (for his friendship and
understanding in more ways than he'll ever possibly know), Richard
Sleegers (a fellow programmer who I continually learn from and
appreciate for being there), Tim Ward (another fellow programmer who
has become my friend and writes many SPITFIRE utilities which I will
always envy him for <G>) and everyone else who I have talked to and
dealt with since becoming a Spifire SysOp, one of the Elite!

  Now, as my final plug <G>, I have just realeased my first attempt
at writing a SPITFIRE utility that was originally written for my
personal use, but released after getting a few requests for it.  It
is called BFSI2.ZIP and can be downloaded from the Mother Board BBS
or Buffalo Creek's BBS.  It can also be downloaded or F'REQed from
Bear Facts ][ also.  The magic name is BFSI for all of you with
front-end mailers.  It is a simple program the gives you a system
info screen for your BBS.  It will tell you if the SysOp is available
for chat, the last caller to the BBS, total callers, downloads for
the day, etc.  If you are interested, check it out and please let me
know what you think of it.

  Thanks for reading through all of this dribble and rambling and
remember, we all belong to one of the best families on earth!  The
SPITFIRE family!

                                                   Take care...

                            

͸
  NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS 
;

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

Get A Life!...................................201-731-6416...28800 BPS
Marc Gaylen, Sysop..................................Avenel, New Jersey

The Mud Run::FSI;BBS..........................504-344-0450...14400 BPS
Bryan Kelly, Sysop..............................Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Clutch City BBS...............................713-398-9191..115200 BPS
Ryan Evans, Sysop..........................................Katy, Texas

Higher Magnitude..............................916-273-7945...14400 BPS
Charlean Andes, Sysop.........................Grass Valley, California

The Stop Spot BBS.............................705-495-0718...14400 BPS
Willie Simmonds, Sysop......................North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Proton........................................702-655-0246...28800 BPS
Albert Ficklin, Sysop................................Las Vegas, Nevada

The Late Night BBS............................219-436-5448...38400 BPS
Mark Smith, Sysop..................................Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Action Center.............................606-331-9590...28800 BPS
Chad Longbons, Sysop........................Crescent Springs, Kentucky

The File Box..................................414-686-0663...28800 BPS
Jon Reif, Sysop...................................Manitowoc, Wisconsin

PSI Environmental.............................901-794-3164...28800 BPS
PSI, Inc., Sysop....................................Memphis, Tennessee

Downtown at the beach BBS.....................803-626-7202...28800 BPS
Tom Smith, Sysop..........................Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The Abyss.....................................501-932-8494...19200 BPS
Josh Bowman, Sysop.................................Jonesboro, Arkansas

Skil-Tec BBS..................................519-745-5347...14400 BPS
Dieter Iden, Sysop..........................Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Central BBS...................................903-793-3638...14400 BPS
Glenn Willing, Sysop..................................Texarkana, Texas



     In addition, there are 2 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems
registered.  These private SPITFIRE BBS were registered to Sysops in:
East Moline, Illinois; and Davie, Florida.


     There are 4 registrations for whom registration information  
was incomplete.  These included BBS's in: Jonesboro, Arkansas; 
Burlington, Massachusetts; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Wahiawa, Hawaii.

     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.
