The Desktop BBS

New Fast Mode

If you have used the BBS recently you might have noticed the new Fast Upload option. It's obviously easy to use because many people are - prior to any announcement or instructions.

Here we go with a belated how to:

It is intended for time-pressured folks who just want to log on and send a file without wandering through the system bulletins and menus.

To access the fast upload option, simply log in with your username and password, and then when you see the Desktop BBS welcoming screen, type the "F" key at the prompt.

The BBS will then give you a quote of the day (by popular demand!), and go straight into the upload. Once you have finished uploading your file, the BBS will then ask you for a description of the file as usual, and then bring you to a small menu which lets you either send another file, yell for help, or log off.

However, if you're really impatient and want another trick to make things even faster: you can do so by typing your name, 'Y', password, and 'F' when you are asked for your name. For example, if you wanted to go directly to an upload, your name was Joe Bloggs and your password was Desktop then you would type the following when asked for your name:

Joe Bloggs y Desktop f

and you would immediately be asked for an upload.

What on earth...

A few users may have noticed that very occasionally the BBS looks totally different and then magically seems to go back to the familiar next time they use it.

No you're not going mad! The old Epson is about five years (some would say ten!) past his use-by-date so we have new system under development on a another machine - which is occasionally plugged in for a debugging run. No need to worry about it - you can still do everything just the layout (and speed!) have changed. There will also be an operator standing by to check for problems, so if you do run into problems you would probably get a magic typist helping you out! (Now you know - you can cancel the appointment with the shrink!)

When the new BBS eventually goes online there will be quite a few changes, the most important one will be that it will allow more than one user on at a time.

Thanks for the support

Lastly, we'd like to say a big thankyou to all the people who have been adding to our public file areas lately. With user support it makes the BBS better for everybody!