
                                ECHOLIST
                      The EchoMail Conference List
                              USERS GUIDE

01 Sep 95                                                   ELMOD509.TXT

   This Users' Guide is intended as a brief description of the EchoList,
   and a summary of how to submit updates to the database.

FILE CONTENTS
=============

   A new ELMODnnn.LZH (User's Guide) is distributed monthly, and each
   issue replaces all previous versions of ELMOD.  The 'nnn' is replaced
   by 3 numbers representing the last digit of the year followed by two
   digits of the month number - eg July 1995 is 507.

   In addition, the file is constantly updated to reflect changes in the
   Echolist software, or to improve the explanations, and the current
   draft version of the file may be obtained at any time from 1:1/201
   using the magic name ELMOD.

CURRENT ELIST STATUS
====================

   With the appointment of a new Echolist Coordinator on 02 June 1995,
   the Echolist, or Elist, changed slightly.  The software was
   completely rewritten to permit its use on a different platform and to
   allow fully automated operation.  While most former features and
   formats were retained to the degree possible, the rewriting of the
   software necessitated some changes, and these are documented in this
   file.

PURPOSE OF THE ECHOLIST
=======================

   The EchoList is a monthly publication sponsored by the Zone 1
   Echomail Coordinator, and produced by 1:1/201.  It provides a place
   for Moderators to advertise their conferences regardless of
   distribution system or network, both to people who would like to
   participate, and to those who route echo traffic.  It is also a
   reference for distribution systems wishing to contact the Moderator
   of an echo, or wishing information about an echo's topics.

   We reserve the right to decline to accept a requested entry if in our
   opinion the listing of an entry appears intended to cause harm to an
   individual, promotes illegal activities, or is likely to affect
   adversely those involved in distribution of the Echolist or the echo.
   Due to the large number of conferences listed (about 1400), such
   non-acceptance of an entry may take place even after publication.

   The listings in the EchoList are maintained by the Moderators, not by
   the Echolist Coordinator.  Additions and updates to the database are
   done by submitting NetMail messages addressed to a special name and
   node address.  The Subject of the message indicates what is to be
   done, and the body of the message has the data for the database
   entry.  The format of the message body requires that each line have
   one keyword and its accompanying data.  Since the process is
   automated, correct formatting of both the address and the message
   body is essential to having your data recognized by the program.

EXPIRY OF ELIST ENTRIES
=======================

   To ensure that the Echolist contains only up-to-date information:

   ***********************************************************************
   ALL ENTRIES EXPIRE SIX MONTHS AFTER THE MODERATOR'S LAST UPDATE IS SENT
   ***********************************************************************

   This means that a Moderator must send an update netmail at least once
   every six months to maintain the EchoList entry.  Moderators and
   Co-Moderators should work together to ensure that this is done.  It
   is suggested that the process be automated, and many moderators send
   their updates monthly.

   5 months after an entry was last updated, the Elist entry is flagged
   with the following warning immediately under the tag in the Elist:

                         !!! DELETE WARNING !!!

   At the same time a netmail advisory is sent to the person who last
   updated the entry, at the node number on record.  1 month later, if
   the entry is still not updated, it is deleted from the Elist.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF UPDATES
===========================

   Acknowledgements of receipt of update messages are sent via Fidonet's
   echomail-routed netmail, unless the hold option is specified.
   Acknowledgements to non-Fidonet nodes are available only if the hold
   option is specified.  Automated expiry warning netmail is all routed.

   The Elist software is run each time inbound mail is received. Netmail
   is processed immediately regardless of whether it arrives via a
   passworded or an insecure session.  As a result, updates usually are
   processed within 5 minutes of their arrival.  Some delay is
   inevitable if the system is in the middle of processing a major mail
   dump.  If you have requested that an acknowledgment to be placed on
   hold, it is suggested that you wait for one hour after delivering an
   update before polling again.

   Successful updates are also posted daily in the ECHOLIST echo.

SENDING AN ADDITION OR UPDATE
=============================

   To add or update an EchoList entry, submit a NetMail message
   addressed to "ECHOLIST" at 1:1/201.  A separate message is required
   for each echo being updated.  The message subject must be "MODerator
   UPDate" which may also be abbreviated to "MOD UPD".  The message
   header thus looks like this:

         Correct:

         To:          ECHOLIST
         At:          1:1/201
         Subject:     MOD UPD

         Wrong:

         To:          Adrian Walker
         At:          1:1/201
         Subject:     MOD UPD

   MESSAGE BODY FORMAT
   -------------------

      The body of the message text has the data for the database entry,
      formatted so that every line starts with a special keyword that
      identifies the field name as detailed below, followed by the data
      to be put in that field.

      The required fields for new entries are TAG, TITLE, DESCRIPTION,
      MODERATOR and PASSWORD.  The other lines are optional, and if you
      do not wish to supply data for a given field, omit that line.

      If the echo is already in the current Elist, only the TAG and
      PASSword fields need to be included in an update message, since
      the software will supply the remaining information from the
      existing Elist entry.

      NOTE 1:  Although an abbreviated update is accepted, the public
               posts of updates in the ECHOLIST echo contain only the
               data from the update message.  Since these posts form a
               useful advertising medium for an echo, a moderator may
               wish to include all data in every update to assist users
               reading these public posts.

      NOTE 2:  If the echo has already been deleted from the Elist, you
               can not submit an abbreviated update, since the missing
               data is no longer on file.

      Each line may appear only once, the two exceptions being DESC and
      MOD lines, of which there may be as many as necessary up to the
      limit shown below.  If multiple copies of other lines are
      included, only the last one will be recognized by the software.

      The first data line MUST be TAG.  After that, all other lines can
      come in any order.  The keyword starts at the left margin of the
      line, and may be abbreviated, but the CAPITALIZED part of the
      keyword is the minimum abbreviation you can use.  The To-name,
      subject, keywords and passwords are NOT case sensitive.  The <>
      and [] in the following lines are used here only for clarity and
      should be omitted.

      In the body of the message:

      Mandatory:

      TAGname       <echo area name>                     [max 19 characters]
      TITLe         <brief description of the echo>      [max 58 characters]
      DESCription   <full description of the echo>       [max 25 lines]
      MODerator     <moderator name>, <moderator node>   [max 6 lines]
      PASSword      <current password>, <new password>

      Optional:

      ORIGin        <originating node of the distribution>
      DISTribution  <distribution systems or regions>
      GATEway       <gateways to other zones & networks crossed>
      RESTrictions  </SYS /MOD /MEM /REA /ACC /RUL>
      TOTalnodes    <number of nodes carrying this echo>
      VOLume        <number of messages>/<Month, Day or Week>
      RULEfile      <filename of rules file in ELRULnnn.LZH>
      OPTION        <HOLD>                               [no abbreviations]

      Note:

      Passwords and descriptions are now mandatory.
      Fields such as SEEN-BY and PATH are no longer recognized or recorded.

   SAMPLE ENTRY
   ------------

      TAG   Z1_BACKBONE
      TITL  Zone One Mail Backbone - Users
      DESC  Discussion of matters relating specifically to the Zone 1 Mail
      DESC  Backbone including distribution, routing, echoes carried,
      DESC  contents of FIDONET.NA/NO and FIDOSTAT.NA, Backbone Operating
      DESC  Procedures, connections to the Backbone Hubs, and requests for
      DESC  addition of new echoes.  Discussion of other mail distribution
      DESC  systems is off topic.  Available to all who have business with
      DESC  the Z1 Backbone.
      MOD   Adrian Walker, 1:153/752@fidonet.org
      PASS  YOURGUESS
      ORIG  1:153/752
      DIST  Z1-BACKBONE
      TOT   500
      VOL   60/week

   KEYWORD EXPLANATIONS
   --------------------

                            <MANDATORY KEYWORDS>

      TAG is the one-word name used in distributing the echo, and is
      also called the area name or group name.  Since the tag is often
      used by areas control programs to create subdirectories, and is
      formatted into the echo listings of distribution systems, tags
      should be no longer than 19 characters, and the first 8 characters
      should not duplicate those of other tags.  The Echolist does not
      accept duplicate tag names.

      TITLE should be a one-line title for the conference, preferably 58
      chars or less.  Since the title is also imported from the Elist
      directly into the echolists of various distribution systems,
      titles longer than 58 characters are likely to be truncated.

      DESCRIPTION is now a mandatory field, and allows for a more
      detailed description of the conference, since you can supply
      multiple DESC lines.  In the Elist all DESC lines are combined
      into a single paragraph.  Make sure that you have the keyword
      DESC in front of *every* line of description text, or the Elist
      software will not recognize what type of line they each are.

         Correct:

         DESC  Discussion of matters relating specifically to the Zone 1
         DESC  Mail Backbone including distribution, routing, echoes
         DESC  carried, contents of FIDONET.NA/NO and FIDOSTAT.NA.

         Wrong:

         DESC  Discussion of matters relating specifically to the Zone 1
               Mail Backbone including distribution, routing, echoes
               carried, contents of FIDONET.NA/NO and FIDOSTAT.NA.

      MODERATOR, for the purpose of the Echolist, is normally defined as
      the person(s) with authority over the distribution and policies of
      a conference.  For those echoes not requiring such a single
      authority, the listing refers instead to the person designated as
      contact person or liaison on behalf of the echo.

         There MUST be at least one Moderator listed in order to have a
         valid EchoList entry.  Each Moderator line consists of a first
         and last name (no initials or middle names) followed by a
         comma, and then the Moderator's node address.  Only one name
         and address is permitted per MOD line.

         Node addresses should provide the method of contact with the
         Moderator, and since the Echolist is produced within Fidonet,
         this should be an address, or a point off an address, which is
         listed in a commonly available nodelist and is thus accessible
         from Fidonet.  There should be no spaces in the address field.

         Correct:

            MOD  Adrian Walker, 1:153/752
            MOD  Adrian Walker, 1:153/752.0
            MOD  Adrian Walker, awalker@portal.ca

         Wrong:

            MOD  Adrian Walker 1:153/752         [no comma]

      PASSWORD is now a mandatory field.  It may protect your entry from
      modification by someone else.  There are two password fields on
      the PASSWORD line.  The first is for the current password.  The
      second is optional and is for the new password to change it to, if
      you want to change it.  Here are the formats:

            PASS  SOMEWORD                       [existing password]
            PASS  SOMEWORD, NEWWORD              [change passwords]

            PASS  NEWWORD                        [add password if none]
                 or
            PASS  , NEWWORD                      [add password if none]

                            <OPTIONAL KEYWORDS>

      ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION and GATEWAYS are just an organized set of
      text fields which you can use to describe sources and contacts
      that control links to the conference.  Use any of them which you
      need.  If you are on a formal distribution backbone of some kind,
      don't just say BACKBONE - there are lots of them.  Specifically
      say "Zone 1 Backbone" or "Zone-3 Backbone" or "EchoNet
      Backbone"...

      RESTRICTIONS is a shorthand reference to rules applied by the
      Moderator concerning admission to the conference.

         /ACC - access is limited to Read-Only status.
         /MEM - you must be validated as a member of some organization.
         /MOD - you may not link in without specific approval of the Moderator.
         /REA - only real names are permitted - no aliases.
         /RUL - a rules file is included in ELRULnnn.LZH.
         /SYS - only Sysops are allowed to participate.

         The letters following the '/'  must be in upper case.  If more
         than one is needed these should be separated by a space.  A
         free form Restrictions line is permitted, but ONLY if the line
         does not contain the preceding '/' character.  Acceptable
         formats include:

              REST /SYS
              REST /MOD /SYS
              REST Startrek Fans only

      TOTALNODES is for providing an estimate of the number of systems
      participating in your conference.  It must be a single integer
      number such as 6, 21, 190, etc..

      VOLUME is for providing an estimate of the volume of messages to
      be expected by those who link-in.  It must be a single integer
      number followed by a slash followed by either MONTH, WEEK or DAY
      to identify the time period in which that number of messages flow.

      RULEFILE allows you to specify the name of the rules file which
      you submitted for inclusion in the ELRUL archive.  Please note,
      this keyword is only used to display the NAME of the rules file in
      the Elist entry - to submit the rules FILE itself, you must use a
      separate message following the format detailed in "SENDING A RULES
      FILE" below.  All rules files have the extension of *.RUL.  After
      the keyword "RULE" you should ONLY put the rulefile name on this
      line - no other text:

         Correct:

            RULE  WHATEVER.RUL
            RULEfile  WHATEVER.RUL

         Wrong:

            RULE WHATEVER.RUL is the file.       [extra words]

      OPTION allows you to specify the way in which your update message
      should be handled by the Echolist software.  At present the only
      option is HOLD which causes the acknowledgement message to be held
      for you to pickup, instead of being sent to you via routed
      netmail.  Allow 12 hours before polling for pickup.

SENDING A RULES FILE
====================

   To submit an echo rules file to the Echolist for inclusion in
   ELRUL###.LZH, the monthly collection of current echo rules, submit a
   NetMail message to "ECHOLIST" at 1:1/201.  In order to submit a Rules
   File the EchoList entry must already have been added to the Elist
   with a MOD UPD message.  Rules File messages can not be used for
   adding or updating Elist entries.

   The rules may be submitted using either of the following methods.

   1.  As a file attach message:

         To:       ECHOLIST
         At:       1:1/201
         Subject:  <attached rules file name (xxxxxxxx.RUL)>

         In the body of the message:

         TAGname       <symbolic area name>
         PASSword      <current password>
         ---

   2.  Included in the text of the message:

         To:       ECHOLIST
         At:       1:1/201
         Subject:  MOD RUL

         In the body of the message:

         TAGname       <symbolic area name>
         PASSword      <current password>
         RULEtext      <Full Title of rule file - one line only>
         [insert freeform rules file into message here]
         ---

   Note that in both cases the 3-character string "RUL" appears as part
   of the subject line, and this is the cue for the Elist software to
   process the message as a Rules submission.  All rules messages must
   end with a 3-dash tear line.

SENDING A QUERY REQUEST
=======================

   To query the EchoList database, submit a NetMail message to
   "ECHOLIST" at 1:1/201.  The message subject must be "ECHO QUERY" (no
   abbreviation). The body of the message text has the arguments for the
   request.

   Only a single Query parameter is currently available with the new
   Elist software, and only a single echo may be queried in a given
   query message:

   /MODUPD       <Echo area name>

   This produces an updated copy of the echo's complete Elist entry
   formatted as it appears in the monthly ELIST###.TXT file.  Thus the
   message will look like the following:

   To:          ECHOLIST
   At:          1:1/201
   Subject:     ECHO QUERY

   /MODUPD SOMEECHO
   ---

   It should be noted that some options for message forwarding, and
   string searches other than a complete tag name are not implemented at
   present.

OBTAINING INDIVIDUAL RULES
==========================

   To obtain a list of the most current rules files on record, file
   request the magic name RULES from 1:1/201.  From that list you can
   then file request specific rules which may be more current than those
   in the last ELRULnnn.LZH distribution file.

AUTOMATING THE UPDATES
======================

   You can automate the process of sending update messages with a batch
   file like the following.  The programs I use (and there are many
   others) are DOM100.ZIP (Day of the Month), and MESSGN19.ZIP (Message
   Generator).  This extract is from my Mailer's batch file:

   :MIDNIGHT
           call c:\batch\midnight.bat
           dom                         {see it it is the first of the month}
           if errorlevel 2 goto M2
           if errorlevel 1 goto M1
   :M2
           goto start
   :M1
           c:
           cd\bink\mailchek            {post policies into the echo}
           copy z1_back.hdr messgn.ctl
           messgn c:\max\policies\z1_back.pcy c:\msgs\z1back 153 752 All

                                       {post Elist entry into netmail}
                                       {this is all one line}
           makemsg -Cc:\elist\echo.upd -Dc:\msgs\netmail\ -S1:153/752
              -F"Adrian Walker" -R1:1/201 -T"Echolist" -J"MOD UPD" -P
              -O"Your Origin Line, Vancouver BC "

                                       {post Elist rules into netmail}
                                       {again all one line}
           makemsg -Cc:\elist\echo.rul -Dc:\msgs\netmail\ -S1:153/752
           -F"Adrian Walker" -R1:1/201 -T"Echolist" -J"MOD RUL" -P
           -O"Your Origin Line, Vancouver BC "

           goto start

   If you automate the process, please check how your message generation
   software handles the message date.  Some software will make the
   message date the same as the import file text, which can result in a
   seemingly-old update message.  Echolist uses the message date for the
   'last-updated' date, so message date is rather critical to ensure
   that the listing is redated and therefore does not expire.

HOW ECHOLIST PROCESSES MESSAGES
===============================

   Echolist is a group of programs each performing part of the function
   of processing update messages and updating the database.  This group
   of programs runs after every inbound mail packet is processed.  The
   editing of help files, preparation of the distribution archives, and
   hatching of these archives each month is performed manually.

   After mail tossing is complete, the following series of actions takes
   place:

   1.  ECHOLIST.EXE runs.  This is the main Elist program, and does 3
       things - it manages the password file, extracts data from
       messages to a temporary update file, and it prepares netmail
       responses based on the information received.  It also processes
       ECHO QUERY messages based on information as it showed in the
       database immediately prior to the program running.

   2.  ESORT.EXE runs.  It sorts the extracted data in the newly-created
       update file in preparation for merging into the main database.

   2.  EMERGE.EXE runs.  It runs through the database looking in turn
       for each echo noted in the update file.  When it finds the
       matching database entry, it merges the 2 files segments.  This is
       done by replacing any field which has been updated and retaining
       any field which has not been updated.  Thus a new one line
       description field will replace an entire previously multi-line
       description field, a new title line will replace a previous title
       line, and so on.

CONCLUSION
==========

   Frequently-asked questions are discussed in ELFAQnnn.TXT contained in
   the distribution Elist archive.

   If you have a problem, you should consult the ELFAQ file, this ELMOD
   file, and finally your NEC and REC, prior to contacting the Echolist
   Coordinator for assistance.

   Questions which then require further assistance may be addressed to
   the Echolist Coordinator (Adrian Walker) at 1:1/201 by netmail.

                              ---ooo000ooo---
