 o͵o
 o 21 Oct 1996                 BBS CLOSING                               o
 o                                                          o
 o I regret to announce that The Programmer's Mark BBS is closing as of   o
 o Monday, November 4th.  Please refer to message number 1,689 in the     o
 o Public message area for details.                                       o
 o͵o
 o 26 Sep 1996             FIDONET ECHOES ADDED                          o
 o                                                          o
 o The following FidoNet echoes have been added to the messagebase:       o
 o                                                                        o
 o     ECPROG    - East Coast Programmers                                o
 o     DR_DEBUG  - Doctor Debug's Laboratory                             o
 o     GRAPHICS  - Graphics Programming                                  o
 o     GAMEDEV   - Game Development                                      o
 o     OSDEBATE  - Operating System Debate                               o
 o     USR_MODEM - US Robotics Modems                                    o
 o     TECHNICAL - TECHnical                                             o
 o     HDCONF    - Hard Drive CONFerence                                 o
 o     LINUX     - Linux                                                 o
 o     OS2FORSAL - OS/2 For-Sale                                         o
 o     DIABETES  - Diabetes Discussions And Support                      o
 o     BLINDTLK  - Blindness-Related Topics And Discussions              o
 o     BLINKTALK - Visual Disabilities                                   o
 o                                                                        o
 o It will likely require a day or so for the messages to start flowing.  o
 o͵o
 o 13 Sep 1996            NEW FILE MENU FEATURE                          o
 o                                                          o
 o A new command, File <B>rowse, has been added to the File Menu.  This   o
 o command has many features, including an easy way to tag files.         o
 o͵o
 o 20 Aug 1996           FIDONET VEGAN ECHO ADDED                        o
 o                                                          o
 o The FidoNet Vegetarian echo has been added to the messagebase:         o
 o                                                                        o
 o     VEGAN        - The Vegetarian Echo                                o
 o͵o
 o 27 Jul 1996       FIDONET "FOR SALE" ECHOES ADDED                     o
 o                                                          o
 o The following FidoNet "for sale" related echoes have been added to the o
 o messagebase:                                                           o
 o                                                                        o
 o     CLASSIFIEDS  - Classified Ads (NON-COMMERCIAL)                    o
 o     COMPUSALE    - COMPUSALE                                          o
 o     FOR-SALE     - National For Sale                                  o
 o     NAT_FLEA_MKT - National Flea Market                               o
 o͵o
 o 27 Jul 1996     HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, PROGMARK!                   o
 o                                                          o
 o Having been so busy the past couple of weeks, I'm embarrassed to admit o
 o that I forgot the BBS's birthday!                                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o The BBS turned three years old on July 11th!                           o
 o͵o
 o 16 Jun 1996              NEW OLMR FILE AREA                           o
 o                                                          o
 o We have a new file area:                                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o     DOS-OLMR - DOS OLMRs And Utilities                                o
 o                                                                        o
 o In this file area you will find Off-Line Mail Readers and related      o
 o utilities for DOS.                                                     o
 o͵o
 o 12 Apr 1996             FIDONET ECHOES ADDED                          o
 o                                                          o
 o The following FidoNet echoes have been added to the messagebase:       o
 o                                                                        o
 o     OS2INET  - The Internet and OS/2 Integration and Use              o
 o     OS2LAN   - OS/2 Local Area Networks                               o
 o     OS2VIDEO - OS/2 Video Issues                                      o
 o     OS2WPS   - OS/2's WorkPlace Shell                                 o
 o     OS2_WP   - OS/2 Word Processing                                   o
 o͵o
 o  3 Apr 1996            NEW E-TEXT FILE AREAS                          o
 o                                                          o
 o There are three new E-TEXT related file areas:                         o
 o                                                                        o
 o     POETRY   - Poems, Ballads, Songs, Etc.                            o
 o     GREEK    - The Greek & Roman Classics                             o
 o     SCI-FI   - Science Fiction/Fantasy                                o
 o                                                                        o
 o These areas contain files previously in E-TEXT.                        o
 o͵o
 o 31 Mar 1996             FIDONET QEDIT ADDED                           o
 o                                                          o
 o The FidoNet QEdit echo has been added to the messagebase.              o
 o͵o
 o 11 Mar 1996             FIDO ECHOES ARE HERE                          o
 o                                                          o
 o The following Fidonet echoes have been added to the messagebase:       o
 o                                                                        o
 o Programming                         Compression/Archiving              o
 o    QuickBASIC                          ARJ Support                     o
 o    PDS 7.x and VB/DOS                  Archivers & Compression         o
 o    PowerBASIC                          RAR Support                     o
 o    Visual Basic                                                        o
 o    Assembly language                Other                              o
 o    C                                   4DOS                            o
 o    C++                                 4DOS/4OS2 and Take Command      o
 o    Pascal                              Blue Wave Mail System Support   o
 o    Pascal Programming Lessons          Offline Readers/Doors/Dev.      o
 o                                        Operating System Debate         o
 o OS/2                                   Shareware Software Support      o
 o    OS/2                                Shareware Products Discussion   o
 o    OS/2: DOS and Windows apps          Astronomy                       o
 o    OS/2 Hardware                       National Observational Astron.  o
 o    OS/2 Programming                    Cancer Survivors                o
 o    OS/2 User Groups & Promotion                                        o
 o͵o
 o  3 Mar 1996            MEXBANK NOW AVAILABLE                          o
 o                                                          o
 o A Time/Bytes bank, MexBank, is now available.  You may use MexBank to  o
 o save time and or bytes so that you may have them available should you  o
 o want to download a large file which would otherwise be unavailable     o
 o given your daily time/bytes limit.                                     o
 o                                                                        o
 o Thus, if you want to have those time/bytes available "for a rainy day" o
 o ensure that you save them before you log-off.                          o
 o͵o
 o 23 Feb 1996        CHANGE IN FILE TRANSFER POLICY                     o
 o                                                          o
 o There has been a relatively large number of callers calling at less    o
 o than 9600 bps who have been tying up the BBS downloading files,        o
 o thereby making it difficult for others to get through to the BBS.      o
 o                                                                        o
 o Therefore, a connect rate of 9600 bps or greater is now required in    o
 o order to transfer files.                                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o QWK and Blue Wave mail transfers are unaffected.                       o
 o͵o
 o 19 Feb 1996                FIDO IS COMING                             o
 o                                                          o
 o Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Fidonet should be coming here    o
 o soon.  If there is a Fido echo you would like to receive, leave a      o
 o message to the Sysop.  I don't promise that I will add all requested   o
 o areas, but I will consider all requests.                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o Note that I intend to give priority to Programming, Compression, OS/2, o
 o and Technical related echoes - others have a fairly slim chance of     o
 o being added.                                                           o
 o͵o
 o 18 Jan 1996          ARJ MAIL PACKER AVAILABLE                        o
 o                                                          o
 o ARJ is now available for both the QWK and Blue Wave mail doors.        o
 o͵o
 o  2 Jan 1996           NEW REPORTS MENU OPTION                         o
 o                                                          o
 o A new Reports Menu command, U<S>R Stats, has been added to the Reports o
 o Menu.  This command will report various connection information.  If    o
 o you are having problems with your connection, try this command and see o
 o if the information it reports helps in troubleshooting.                o
 o                                                                        o
 o This command is most useful to those with v.34 or v.34+ capable modems o
 o but contains some information useful for all connections.              o
 o͵o
 o  1 Jan 1996        MAXIMUS 3.01 UPDATE INSTALLED                      o
 o                                                          o
 o I've installed the Maximus 3.01 update.  This is a minor update and    o
 o shouldn't effect system operation (except, hopefully, to fix a few     o
 o minor problems).  If you notice any problems, please leave a message   o
 o to the Sysop, along with any information you can give which will help  o
 o to troubleshoot the problem.                                           o
 o͵o
 o  9 Dec 1995             NEW "FAQ" FILE AREA                           o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a new file area, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions Lists),   o
 o which contains information on a wide variety of topics, mostly from    o
 o various UseNet newsgroups.                                             o
 o͵o
 o  8 Dec 1995         BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR IS BACK                       o
 o                                                          o
 o A version of the Blue Wave Mail Door which is compatible with Maximus  o
 o 3.00 is now available.  You may access it by pressing "8" at most of   o
 o the menus.                                                             o
 o͵o
 o 25 Nov 1995           SECURITY LEVELS REVISED                         o
 o                                                          o
 o I've noticed that a number of you have been bumping into the daily     o
 o download limit, so it's been increased (from 2 to 4MB/day for those    o
 o with a Normal level, from 5 to 8MB for Favoured, and 7.5 to 12 for     o
 o Visiting Sysops).                                                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o While we're on the subject :), consider uploading some files!          o
 o Regular callers here know that there are no file ratios, but I am      o
 o trying to beef up the new C, Pascal, and ASM file areas!  So, if you   o
 o feel you know something about those subjects and can therefore upload  o
 o quality files in those categories, please do.                          o
 o͵o
 o 27 Oct 1995               NEW MESSAGE AREA                            o
 o                                                          o
 o The TECH message area has recently been even more popular than usual,  o
 o but the messages have been of two different types.  Many have been on  o
 o technical questions, but many others have been about the business of   o
 o computers: Apple's market share, Microsoft's sales tactics and IBM's   o
 o marketing strategy are not the same topics as SIMMs, IRQs, and virii.  o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, we have created a separate area, COMPWRLD - The Computing World.   o
 o Come join us!                                                          o
 o͵o
 o 20 Sep 1995          NEW PROGRAMMING FILE AREAS                       o
 o                                                          o
 o Now that there is a bit of breathing room in regards to disk space,    o
 o a number of new file areas are being added to the BBS's filebase:      o
 o                                                                        o
 o C-SRC     Source Code              PAS-SRC   Source Code               o
 o C-LIB     Libraries                PAS-LIB   Libraries                 o
 o C-INFO    Information              PAS-INFO  Information               o
 o C-MAG     Electronic Magazines     PAS-MAG   Electronic Magazines      o
 o C-UTIL    Utilities                PAS-UTIL  Utilities                 o
 o C-OS2     C Pgming for OS/2        PAS-OS2   Pascal Pgming for OS/2    o
 o                                                                        o
 o ASM-SRC   Source Code              ASM-MAG   Electronic Magazines      o
 o ASM-LIB   Libraries                ASM-UTIL  Utilities                 o
 o ASM-INFO  Information              ASM-OS2   ASM Pgming for OS/2       o
 o                                                                        o
 o Files will be added to these file areas as I find files of sufficient  o
 o quality.  If you deem yourself knowledgable in any of these            o
 o languages, feel free to upload some files.                             o
 o͵o
 o 11 Sep 1995   OFFICIAL OS/2 CONNECT DISTRIBUTION SITE                 o
 o                                                          o
 o I'm pleased to announce that The Programmer's Mark BBS is now an       o
 o official distribution site for the OS/2 CONNECT electronic newsletter. o
 o                                                                        o
 o OS/2 CONNECT is an excellent source of information on OS/2 related     o
 o matters, including: news items, news and press releases, editorials,   o
 o reader feedback, a calendar of events, bulletin boards, Internet       o
 o addresses, telephone and fax numbers, publications (books, videos,     o
 o periodicals), prices and vendors of OS/2 software, classifieds, and    o
 o more.                                                                  o
 o                                                                        o
 o The newsletter is released monthly, in .INF format, and is available   o
 o under the filename CONmmyy.ARJ, where "mm" is a two digit month code,  o
 o and "yy" is the two digit year.  CON1095.ARJ has just been uploaded by o
 o the publisher, Tim Bryce.                                              o
 o͵o
 o  2 Sep 1995          LASTREAD POINTERS TRASHED                        o
 o                                                          o
 o Somehow or other (I still haven't figured out how it happened), all of o
 o the lastread pointers were trashed.  This means that you must re-set   o
 o your lastread pointers before you download your next mail packet - if  o
 o you don't, you'll get one or more LARGE mail packets!                  o
 o                                                                        o
 o Also, if you are using the QWK Mail Door, you will need to re-select   o
 o the message areas you wish included in your QWK packets.  Those using  o
 o the Blue Wave Mail Door will not need to do this.                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o The easiest way to re-set your lastread pointers is to use the Blue    o
 o Wave Mail Door.  Simply follow these instructions:                     o
 o                                                                        o
 o     Press "8" from almost any of the BBS's menus to open the door.    o
 o     Press "C" to select the Configuration Menu.                       o
 o     Press "R" to select the Reset Lastread pointers command.          o
 o                                                                        o
 o You can use the Blue Wave Mail Door to re-set your lastread pointers   o
 o even if you don't use it to download mail, and you don't have to       o
 o re-select your message areas to do so.                                 o
 o͵o
 o 25 Aug 1995                10,000 CALLS!                              o
 o                                                          o
 o The Programmer's Mark BBS today received its 10,000th call!  The       o
 o honors go to Felix Rodriguez who called at 8:31pm this evening.        o
 o͵o
 o 21 Aug 1995       511MB HARD DRIVE ADDED TO SYSTEM                    o
 o                                                          o
 o The Hard Drive Fund is now fulfilled - a 511MB SCSI drive has been     o
 o added to the system.  My intention was to add a 1GB drive, but the     o
 o Hard Drive Fund has been active for almost 4 months, and the           o
 o contributions were slow in coming ($150 was collected in that time),   o
 o so I decided to go with a smaller drive.                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Golembiewski, Alex  o
 o Pirko, Victor Veytsel, Lawrence Castiglione, Scott Phillips, Rod       o
 o Suter, Michael Gershkovich, Monroe Chasson, and Perrault Jean-Paul for o
 o their generous contributions.  I'd also like to thank Ioannis          o
 o Hadjiioannou for giving me a good deal on a slightly used 511MB SCSI   o
 o drive, as well as for his advice in setting it up, and Joe Zeimetz for o
 o getting me a seven connector SCSI ribbon cable.                        o
 o                                                                        o
 o The E-TEXT files, removed about three months ago, have been restored.  o
 o New files will be added as time permits.                               o
 o͵o
 o 15 Aug 1995       MAXIMUS 3.00 FOR OS/2 INSTALLED                     o
 o                                                          o
 o I've installed the new Maximus 3.00.  If you notice any problems,      o
 o please leave me a message, explaining, as best you can, the details.   o
 o                                                                        o
 o One side-effect of this upgrade is that the configuration files which  o
 o contain your REP<->Maximus message area mappings are no longer valid   o
 o and had to be deleted.  What this means is that, for the first REP you o
 o upload, Maximus will report that the message areas contained within    o
 o your REP packet are invalid, and you will be prompted for the area in  o
 o which to place them.                                                   o
 o                                                                        o
 o This is a one-time thing, and shouldn't happen after your first REP    o
 o upload.  Note that those of you using the Blue Wave Mail Door should   o
 o not have this problem.                                                 o
 o͵o
 o 31 Jul 1995               FILE AREA CHANGE                            o
 o                                                          o
 o The QWK-ARCS (QWK Archives Of Old Progmark Mail) file area has been    o
 o renamed to MAIL-ARC (Archives Of Old ProgMark Mail).  More             o
 o significantly, these archives now contain the messages as text files   o
 o rather than QWK archives.                                              o
 o͵o
 o 13 Jul 1995     V.34+ FLASH ROM UPGRADE TO USR V.34+                  o
 o                                                          o
 o I've installed the 07/05/95 release of the USR v.34 Flash ROM.  This   o
 o is the official (non-) release.  This release adds 33.6K as a new top o
 o speed.                                                                 o
 o                                                                        o
 o If you have an upgradable Courier v.everything, download USRSDL.EXE    o
 o (which I've downloaded directly from US Robotics' BBS) and install     o
 o this new Flash ROM so that you may get a v.34+ (33.6K) connect here.   o
 o Note that v.34+ connects are dependent upon line conditions and are    o
 o NOT guaranteed.                                                        o
 o͵o
 o 11 Jul 1995      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PROGRAMMER'S MARK!                   o
 o                                                          o
 o The Programmer's Mark BBS is two years old today!                      o
 o͵o
 o 20 Jun 1995              NEW OS/2 FILE AREA                           o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a new file area, OS2-APPS.  This file area is dedicated to o
 o application programs for OS/2.  This area contains files which were    o
 o previously in OS2-MISC.                                                o
 o͵o
 o  9 Jun 1995     V.34+ FLASH ROM UPGRADE TO USR V.34                   o
 o                                                          o
 o I've installed the 05/05/95 () release of the USR v.34 Flash ROM.     o
 o This update includes: v.34+, which adds signalling rates of 31.2K and  o
 o 33.6K bps, improved v.FC performance, improved v.34 compatibility,     o
 o improved v.32xxx retraining, etc.                                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o Note that you must install this Flash ROM upgrade on your USR v.34 if  o
 o you wish to attempt the higher connect speeds offered by this upgrade. o
 o The file is available for download here as SDL51505.ARJ.               o
 o                                                                        o
 o If you have troubles with this Flash ROM update, you can restore your  o
 o modem to the 12/02/94 ROM code (the latest non- release) with the     o
 o program included in USRSDL.EXE.                                        o
 o͵o
 o 26 May 1995            HARD DRIVE FUND UPDATE                         o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to a shortage of disk space, and a, thus far, less than            o
 o enthusiastic response to the Hard Drive Fund, the E-Text files are no  o
 o longer on-line.  However, these files are available for request -      o
 o refer to the notes at the top of the E-Text file listing.              o
 o                                                                        o
 o Although we now have another 52MB of drive space available, this was   o
 o accomplished by removing a file area, hardly an optimal solution.      o
 o                                                                        o
 o Therefore, we will keep the hard drive fund active, and when enough    o
 o money is collected to buy the new drive, we will be able to restore    o
 o the E-Text area, as well as to have a large amount of disk space       o
 o available for future filebase expansion.                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o Other file areas will go as disk space warrants.                       o
 o͵o
 o 17 May 1995           USR V.EVERYTHING IS HERE                        o
 o                                                          o
 o I'm pleased to announce that The Programmer's Mark BBS is now running  o
 o under a USR Courier Dual Standard v.34 ("v.everything") modem.         o
 o                                                                        o
 o This modem supports the v.34 (up to 28.8Kbps), v.fc (28.8K), v.32terbo o
 o (21.6K), v.32bis (14.4K), v.32 (9.6K), and USR's proprietary HST       o
 o (16.8K) modulation protocols (and of course, all lower speeds within   o
 o those protocols), which means that The Programmer's Mark BBS will help o
 o you to get your modem's maximum throughput!                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o Basic testing indicates that it is working fine, but if you encounter  o
 o any problems, please let me know.                                      o
 o͵o
 o 29 Apr 1995               HARD DRIVE FUND                             o
 o                                                          o
 o Disk space on The Programmer's Mark BBS is critically low.  At this    o
 o time the physical drive that holds the BBS's filebase has only 5MB     o
 o free.  However, I have a wide variety of files stored on tape which    o
 o can be added to the filebase were there disk space available to make   o
 o this possible.                                                         o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, I'm starting a Hard Drive Fund.  I'd like to add a 1GB drive to    o
 o the system.  A ~1GB SCSI drive can be purchased for roughly $500 to    o
 o $550, depending on various factors.                                    o
 o                                                                        o
 o Those of you who have benefited from the files currently available and o
 o would like to see the filebase expand in breadth and depth, please     o
 o consider making a donation to this Hard Drive Fund.                    o
 o                                                                        o
 o Please refer to the <H>ard Drive Fund Bulletin on the Bulletin Menu,   o
 o or BLT-1.13 in your QWK packets, for details.                          o
 o͵o
 o 29 Apr 1995         PROGMARK HELP SYSTEM UPDATED                      o
 o                                                          o
 o The Programmer's Mark BBS Help System has been updated to v1.04.  This o
 o is a minor update intended to reflect changes in the BBS's menu        o
 o structure since the last update.  The filename is PMHS104.EXE.         o
 o͵o
 o 27 Apr 1995             NEW OS/2 FILE AREAS                           o
 o                                                          o
 o There are four new OS/2 related file areas:                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o     OS2-CMP  - OS/2 Archivers & Utilities                             o
 o     OS2-PGM  - OS/2 Programming                                       o
 o     OS2-EDIT - OS/2 Editors                                           o
 o     BAS-OS2  - BASIC Programming For OS/2                             o
 o                                                                        o
 o The files in these areas are those that were scattered among the       o
 o non-OS/2 counterparts of these areas (those compression, BASIC, and    o
 o programming related).                                                  o
 o͵o
 o 26 Apr 1995           BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR BACK                        o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to popular demand (well, Dennis and John wanted it, and they're    o
 o popular :), the Blue Wave Mail Door is back.                           o
 o͵o
 o 16 Apr 1995        SYSTEM EVENT MOVED TO 11:58PM                      o
 o                                                          o
 o The time of the system event, previously 3:00am, has been changed to   o
 o 11:58pm.                                                               o
 o͵o
 o 10 Mar 1995         BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR REMOVED                       o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to lack of interest, the Blue Wave Mail door has been removed.     o
 o͵o
 o 28 Feb 1995             NEW OS/2 FILE AREAS                           o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to the increasing number of OS/2 files, the old OS/2 File Area has o
 o been split up into the following areas:                                o
 o                                                                        o
 o     OS2-WPS  - OS/2 WorkPlace Shell Utilities                         o
 o     OS2-UTIL - OS/2 Text Mode Utilities                               o
 o     OS2-BNCH - OS/2 Benchmarking/System Info Utilities                o
 o     OS2-REXX - OS/2 REXX Related                                      o
 o     OS2-TIPS - OS/2 Tips, Tricks, and Info                            o
 o     OS2-FIX  - OS/2 Updates/Patches                                   o
 o     OS2-MISC - OS/2 Miscellaneous Files                               o
 o͵o
 o 23 Feb 1995         BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR UPDATED                       o
 o                                                          o
 o The Blue Wave Mail Door has been updated to v3.01.  Hopefully, this    o
 o update will fix some of the minor problems some of you have been       o
 o experiencing.                                                          o
 o͵o
 o 17 Feb 1995           NEW "PGM-OTHR" FILE AREA                        o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a new file area, PGM-OTHR.  This file area is dedicated to o
 o compilers and interpreters for languages other than BASIC.             o
 o͵o
 o 31 Jan 1995        BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR INSTALLED                      o
 o                                                          o
 o The Blue Wave Mail Door is installed for a test drive.  It seems to    o
 o work OK (after a rocky installation).  It is available as option "8"   o
 o from most of the menus.  If you use the Blue Wave Mail Reader, give it o
 o a try and let me know if you have any problems.                        o
 o                                                                        o
 o Note: the Blue Wave Mail Door does NOT support QWK, so you must be     o
 o using either the DOS or OS/2 versions of the Blue Wave Mail Reader or  o
 o Wave Rider (which I understand to be a Windows program which supports  o
 o Blue Wave's proprietary mail packet format).                           o
 o͵o
 o 23 Jan 1995           NEW "BAS-OTHR" FILE AREA                        o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a new file area, BAS-OTHR.  This file area is dedicated to o
 o BASICs other than QB, PDS, and PowerBASIC (each of which have their    o
 o own file areas).                                                       o
 o͵o
 o 16 Jan 1995         CALL-BACK VERIFIER INSTALLED                      o
 o                                                          o
 o The Programmer's Mark BBS now requires that callers be verified in     o
 o order to access most of the BBS.  I've held off on doing this as long  o
 o as possible (about a year and a half!), but, since the board has gone  o
 o full-time there have been more and more unscrupulous individuals       o
 o taking advantage (mostly by logging on under multiple names) of the    o
 o previously liberal access policy.                                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o The CBV is accessed via the "C" command on the Main Menu.  Call-backs  o
 o are available from 9:00 pm to 8:00 am.                                 o
 o                                                                        o
 o Please refer to the "Verifi<c>ation Policy" bulletin on the Bulletins  o
 o Menu (#7), or BLT-1.12 in your QWK packets, for details.               o
 o͵o
 o  8 Jan 1995        MESSAGEBASE CHANGES IN EFFECT                      o
 o                                                          o
 o The changes to the messagebase, referenced in a previous System News   o
 o item, are now in effect.  Remember, you MUST re-select the message     o
 o areas you wish to be included in your QWK packets, and you MUST re-set o
 o your lastread pointers (unless you wish to get a number of LARGE QWK   o
 o packets!).  I will try and make myself as available as possible in     o
 o order to assist those who are unfamiliar with the procedure.           o
 o͵o
 o  8 Jan 1995               NEW MESSAGE AREA                            o
 o                                                          o
 o "The life which is unexamined is not worth living." - Plato            o
 o                                                                        o
 o We now have a new message area:                                        o
 o                                                                        o
 o    EXAMINED - The Examined Life                                        o
 o                                                                        o
 o For messages on philosophical and religious questions - a place where  o
 o we can write at some length about questions not easily answered.       o
 o͵o
 o  8 Jan 1995        NEW "WORDS IN A ROW" FILE AREA                     o
 o                                                          o
 o "My Life in My Kitchen," everybody's favorite semi-experimental,       o
 o gritty urban, magical realist novel, is now available for download.    o
 o The completed chapters are available in self-extracting archives in    o
 o the Words In a Row ("WORDS") file area.  Just download LIFE*.* and     o
 o you'll get everything currently available.  More chapters will be      o
 o coming soon, including some material unavailable anywhere else.        o
 o͵o
 o  1 Jan 1995             MESSAGEBASE CHANGES                           o
 o                                                          o
 o There will be major changes to the messagebase, to take effect on      o
 o Sunday, January 8th.  These changes are too complicated to explain via o
 o this news file, so those of you who participate in the messagebase,    o
 o please refer to my message to All in the Public area, under the        o
 o subject "Messagebase changes".                                         o
 o͵o
 o 29 Dec 1994            NEW "PUBLIC" FILE AREA                         o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a new file area, PUBLIC.  In this file area you will find  o
 o the various allfiles listings, The Programmer's Mark BBS Help System,  o
 o and various other free downloads.  This is done as a prelude to the    o
 o installation of a Call-Back Verifier which will restrict access to the o
 o rest of the filebase to those who have been verified via the CBV.      o
 o͵o
 o  5 Dec 1994     OS/2 VERSION OF PROGMARK HELP SYSTEM                  o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to popular demand (well, one person *mentioned* it, anyway), there o
 o is now an OS/2 version of the Programmer's Mark Help System included   o
 o in the distribution archive, currently PMHS103.EXE.                    o
 o͵o
 o  1 Dec 1994               MORE BBS CHANGES                            o
 o                                                          o
 o The "Download a <F>ile List" Menu has been renamed to "Sp<e>cial       o
 o Downloads" and allows you to download the ARJ distribution archive,    o
 o the PKZIP distribution archive, the Programmer's Mark BBS Help System  o
 o (latest version), as well as the various BBS file listings.            o
 o͵o
 o 21 Nov 1994           NEW PROGRAM FOR CALLERS                         o
 o                                                          o
 o Announcing The Programmer's Mark BBS Help System v1.0.  A program      o
 o which functions almost identically to the BBS's on-line Help System.   o
 o With this program you may explore the help system, locally on your PC, o
 o at your leisure.  Download PMHS100.EXE (self-extracting archive).      o
 o͵o
 o 14 Nov 1994               BBS IMPROVEMENTS                            o
 o                                                          o
 o The BBS has been improved - the "Download a <F>ile List" Menu is back  o
 o (and working).  Also, the "Download <&> Log-off" option on the QWK     o
 o Menu has been fixed.  Finally, the Help System is now completely       o
 o functional.                                                            o
 o͵o
 o  8 Nov 1994              CONTRIBUTORS LIST                            o
 o                                                          o
 o Check out the Contributors List bulletin on the Bulletin Menu!         o
 o (or, BLT-1.11 in your QWK packets, though the one on the Bulletin      o
 o Menu looks nicer! :)                                                   o
 o͵o
 o  4 Nov 1994          JOHN BRAGAZZI IS CO-SYSOP                        o
 o                                                          o
 o Please welcome John Bragazzi as the Co-Sysop of this BBS.              o
 o                                                                        o
 o Over time, it has become apparent to me that John and I have very      o
 o similar attitudes in regards to BBSing, so I thought he and I would    o
 o be a "perfect fit" as Sysop and Co-Sysop.                              o
 o                                                                        o
 o As Co-Sysop, John now has Sysop-level access to much of the BBS,       o
 o including the user database.                                           o
 o                                                                        o
 o Please show John the same consideration as you would me...um...er...   o
 o well, just be nice to him, OK?! :)                                     o
 o͵o
 o  3 Nov 1994           DEDICATED LINE INSTALLED                        o
 o                                                          o
 o Good news!  Nynex has made good on their promise and the new line is   o
 o now operational.                                                       o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, The Programmer's Mark BBS is finally a full-time BBS! :)           o
 o͵o
 o  2 Nov 1994         DEDICATED LINE AGAIN DELAYED                      o
 o                                                          o
 o There was *another* problem with the line installation, but, this      o
 o time, it wasn't as severe - the actual wiring has been laid, but Nynex o
 o tells me that the line won't be operational until sometime tomorrow    o
 o morning.                                                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, on the assumption that Nynex knows what it is talking about, I'm   o
 o leaving the BBS up past 6:00am tomorrow.                               o
 o                                                                        o
 o IOW, the BBS is now, tentatively, available 24/7! :)                   o
 o                                                                        o
 o If Nynex doesn't have the new line (which is to be my new voice line)  o
 o operational tomorrow, I will have to revert back to the part-time,     o
 o mostly evening/night, hours for which Programmer's Mark (PM, get it?)  o
 o is famous. :)                                                          o
 o͵o
 o 31 Oct 1994            DEDICATED LINE DELAYED                         o
 o                                                          o
 o There was a problem with the line installation and it had to be        o
 o re-scheduled for this Wednesday (November 2nd) morning.                o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, assuming *this* installation goes smoothly, the BBS should be      o
 o available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week starting the afternoon of      o
 o November 2nd.                                                          o
 o͵o
 o 24 Oct 1994            DEDICATED LINE ORDERED                         o
 o                                                          o
 o Come one, come all!                                                    o
 o                                                                        o
 o The dedicated line for the BBS has been ordered.  It is scheduled to   o
 o be installed the afternoon of October 31st.                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o The BBS's number will not change as I've decided to make the new       o
 o number my voice number; this saves the hassle of trying to get all     o
 o the callers to call the new number.                                    o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, assuming everything goes smoothly, the BBS will go 24 hours a day, o
 o seven days a week on the evening of October 31st.                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Zeimetz, Al Negron, o
 o John Bragazzi, Newt Meltzer, Len Philpot, Howard Lustig, Alex Pirko,   o
 o Rod Suter, and two people who wish to remain anonymous, for their      o
 o generous contributions.                                                o
 o͵o
 o 23 Oct 1994              MESSAGEBASE PURGED                           o
 o                                                          o
 o I've purged the messagebase of all messages prior to January 1st,      o
 o 1994.  There is a new File Area:                                       o
 o                                                                        o
 o    QWK-ARCS - QWK Archives of old Programmer's Mark Mail               o
 o                                                                        o
 o which contains these messages.                                         o
 o͵o
 o  4 Oct 1994             DEDICATED LINE DRIVE                          o
 o                                                          o
 o I have finally gotten the hardware and software problems resolved, and o
 o am therefore ready to order the dedicated line so the BBS can go up 24 o
 o hours a day, 7 days a week.                                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o The installation charge is $85.46.                                     o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, those of you interested in having the board be available 24 hours  o
 o a day, 7 days a week, or indeed, if you simply want to make a general  o
 o donation, please see the "Dedicated <L>ine Fund" bulletin  (available  o
 o on the Bulletin Menu (#7)).                                            o
 o͵o
 o 20 Sep 1994                   BBS DOWN                                o
 o                                                          o
 o The BBS was down from 10:00pm 18 Sep to approx. 3:00am 20 Sep.  I've   o
 o tracked down the problem to a failing power supply and the system is   o
 o currently running ("patched together") with a temp. power supply.      o
 o                                                                        o
 o Sorry for those of you who were getting a busy signal or no answer.    o
 o͵o
 o 17 Aug 1994                MODEM REPAIRED                             o
 o                                                          o
 o The (hopefully) repaired modem has been received from US Robotics.     o
 o I've performed some tests and it seems to work properly.  However, if  o
 o the BBS drops carrier on you, please leave me a message and let me     o
 o know.  If you are unable to do so here, please leave me a message on   o
 o another local BBS or to my Internet address,                           o
 o joe.negron@consultant.com.                                             o
 o͵o
 o  6 Aug 1994              NEW BULLETINS MENU                           o
 o                                                          o
 o There is now a Bulletins Menu.  If you haven't previously read the     o
 o bulletins, please take the time to do so.  For those of you who        o
 o participate in the messagebase here, these bulletins are included in   o
 o your .QWK packets (bulletins 1 to 6: BLT-1.[1-6]), so you don't have   o
 o to check out the Bulletins Menu.                                       o
 o                                                                        o
 o Also, as a result of this new menu, the various disclaimers which      o
 o used to be shown at log-on have been disabled (because they are now    o
 o bulletins).                                                            o
 o͵o
 o  2 Aug 1994                 BBS FACELIFT                              o
 o                                                          o
 o I've re-worked the menus a bit.  As a result, there is now a "Download o
 o & log-off" command on the QWK Mail Door Menu, as well as a "Note to    o
 o Sysop" command on the Main Menu.  Also, I've removed the "Download a   o
 o File Listing" Menu (never could get it to work right); instead, I've   o
 o documented the names of the various allfiles listings on the File Menu o
 o (since that was the purpose of the "Download a File Listing" Menu in   o
 o the first place - so callers would know the names of those files).     o
 o͵o
 o 24 Jul 1994                 MODEM ENIGMA                              o
 o                                                          o
 o Well, it seems I was wrong about the heat problem with the modem.  Or, o
 o if I was right, then the damage is already done because no matter how  o
 o cool I keep it, the modem still drops carrier on callers (not to       o
 o mention the problems I've had dialing out!)                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o So, I'm sending the modem in to USRobotics to get repaired (luckily,   o
 o it's still under warranty).                                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o However, operations here should continue as normal since John Bragazzi o
 o very generously lent us his USRobotics Sportster 14.4K.                o
 o                                                                        o
 o Thanks John.                                                           o
 o͵o
 o 22 Jul 1994               NEW MESSAGE AREA                            o
 o                                                          o
 o We have a new Message Area (#11):                                      o
 o                                                                        o
 o    WordsInARow: Some words, in a row, forming a new kind of novel      o
 o                                                                        o
 o which contains MY LIFE IN MY KITCHEN, an open-ended, semi-experimental o
 o novel by John Bragazzi.  A new episode is posted almost every day, so  o
 o jump in and see how you like it.                                       o
 o                                                                        o
 o Comments are encouraged.                                               o
 o͵o
 o 22 Jul 1994                MODEM PROBLEMS                             o
 o                                                          o
 o There have been some (what I think are heat related) problems with the o
 o modem.  It seems the problem has been temporarily solved by leaving    o
 o the case open and having a mini-fan blow directly on the modem (which  o
 o is odd since I have AC and it's almost always running when the BBS is  o
 o up!  If you don't believe me, ask Con Edison who I've probably helped  o
 o to finance their next power plant!).  Anyway, those of you who have    o
 o had dropped carrier problems in the last day or so, this is probably   o
 o why.  Please let me know if you encounter these problems again.  If    o
 o you can't get through here to tell me, please leave me a message       o
 o either on another BBS, or to my Internet address                       o
 o (joe.negron@consultant.com).                                           o
 o͵o
 o 11 Jul 1994      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PROGRAMMER'S MARK!                   o
 o                                                          o
 o The Programmer's Mark BBS is 1 year old today!                         o
 o͵o
 o 21 Jun 1994               BBS IMPROVEMENTS                            o
 o                                                          o
 o Two new features have been added to the BBS:                           o
 o                                                                        o
 o     A "quick log-on" - for those whom this feature has been enabled,  o
 o      the Message and File Disclaimers have been disabled (will not be  o
 o      shown).  This will mostly be helpful to those calling at 2400     o
 o      bps.                                                              o
 o                                                                        o
 o      A similar feature is planned which will take one directly to the  o
 o      QWK Mail Door, additionally bypassing the "Check for Personal     o
 o      Mail" and "Check for New Files" prompts.  Intended, of course,    o
 o      for those who call here primarily to transfer mail.               o
 o                                                                        o
 o     A "Download a <F>ile Listing" menu option (available from the     o
 o      Main and File Menus).  Intended to help those calling long        o
 o      distance (different BBSes use different names for their file      o
 o      listings).                                                        o
 o͵o
 o 16 May 1994          NEW FILE LISTING AVAILABLE                       o
 o                                                          o
 o There is now a file listing available for the two E-Text related File  o
 o Areas on the BBS, Politics/History/Government Text and Electronic      o
 o Texts.  The allfiles listing name is PROG-TXT.ARJ.                     o
 o͵o
 o 10 May 1994              NEW OS/2 FILE AREA                           o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have an OS/2 File Area.  I am currently undecided as to whether o
 o I will carry a comprehensive selection of OS/2 files, but in this new  o
 o File Area you will find what I consider some of the best and most      o
 o unique OS/2 Shareware/Freeware/Public Domain files.                    o
 o                                                                        o
 o There is also an allfiles listing for these OS/2 files, PROG-OS2.ARJ.  o
 o͵o
 o 26 Apr 1994             NEW E-TEXT FILE AREA                          o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a Electronic Texts/Books (E-Text) File Area.               o
 o͵o
 o 25 Apr 1994              NEW -TEST PROGRAM                           o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a -Test Message Area and a -Test File Area.  Those who   o
 o have been granted either Author status or -Tester status will be      o
 o given access to these areas.                                           o
 o                                                                        o
 o If you are an author and have a program you wish tested, please leave  o
 o me a message.  Likewise, if you wish to -Test a program available     o
 o here, also leave a message.                                            o
 o͵o
 o 25 Apr 1994          SPACE FOR OS/2  AVAILABLE                       o
 o                                                          o
 o There is a  version of Ioannis Hadjiioannou's SPACE for OS/2          o
 o available on the File Menu as a "Free Disk Space" command.  Please     o
 o take the time to run it and leave a message for Ioannis in the         o
 o Programming Message Area (or in the -Test Message Area if you've been o
 o given access) if you notice any bugs, anomalies, etc.                  o
 o                                                                        o
 o If you are a registered -Tester, you may download OS2SPACE.ZIP from   o
 o the -Test File Area.                                                  o
 o͵o
 o 15 Apr 1994       NEW SOUND & VISION MESSAGE AREA                     o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a Sound&Vision message area (formerly Tolkien), which is   o
 o for discussion of the Arts.  According to John Bragazzi, who was kind  o
 o enough to dub this conference, Sound and Vision is "what the arts and  o
 o media all have in common, after all, they're images and sounds".       o
 o                                                                        o
 o It's a good name, and I've decided to use it.  I hope you think so     o
 o too.                                                                   o
 o                                                                        o
 o Thanks John.                                                           o
 o͵o
 o 30 Mar 1994    VARIOUS "ALL" FILES LISTINGS AVAILABLE                 o
 o                                                          o
 o There are now various "all" files listings available:                  o
 o                                                                        o
 o     PROG-ALL.ARJ - Allfiles (formerly ALLFILES.ARJ)                   o
 o     PROG-NEW.ARJ - Newfiles - last 14 days (formerly NEWFILES.ARJ)    o
 o     PROG-BAS.ARJ - BASIC                                              o
 o     PROG-PGM.ARJ - General Programming                                o
 o     PROG-CMP.ARJ - Compression                                        o
 o͵o
 o 27 Mar 1994          NEW PROGRAMMING FILE AREA                        o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a Specs, Formats, Listings, etc. File Area (#9); in it,    o
 o you will find specifications, file formats, interrupt lists, etc.      o
 o͵o
 o  3 Mar 1994            NOW RUNNING MAXIMUS/2                          o
 o                                                          o
 o The BBS is now running under Maximus/2 (the OS/2 version of Maximus).  o
 o Please let me know if you notice any problems (you shouldn't! :).      o
 o                                                                        o
 o Also, because many of the archiver selections I've had available under o
 o Maximus DOS aren't available under OS/2, you'll need to re-select your o
 o default archiver (as well as to re-tag your areas to download) if      o
 o you're using the Off-line Mail door.                                   o
 o͵o
 o 25 Feb 1994            NOW RUNNING UNDER OS/2                         o
 o                                                          o
 o The BBS is now running under OS/2 (the DOS version of Maximus, that    o
 o is).  Please let me know if you notice any problems (performance       o
 o problems are the only problem you may encounter, in which case I will  o
 o need to do some tweaking).  I hope to convert to the OS/2 version of   o
 o Maximus very soon (in which case there should be no performance        o
 o problems at all).                                                      o
 o͵o
 o 15 Feb 1994              MINOR BBS CHANGES                            o
 o                                                          o
 o I've noticed that many of you have been expecting the "Q" command to   o
 o Quit to the Main Menu (instead of "Quick Log off" as I've had it);     o
 o therefore I've changed the Quick Log off command to "!" and "Q" will   o
 o now Quit to the Main Menu.  (Note: these commands work from all Menus, o
 o except for the Change Setup Menu, in which case "!" is used to toggle  o
 o Hotkeys)                                                               o
 o͵o
 o  6 Dec 1993         POL-TEXT FILE AREA RESTORED                       o
 o                                                          o
 o Scrounged up enough disk space to restore the                          o
 o Politics/History/Government Text File Area.                            o
 o                                                                        o
 o Start downloading those files!                                         o
 o͵o
 o  2 Dec 1993              FILE AREAS REMOVED                           o
 o                                                          o
 o Due to a shortage of disk space, I've had to remove the following File o
 o Areas:                                                                 o
 o                                                                        o
 o     16 - Communications                                               o
 o     17 - Offline Mail Readers                                         o
 o     23 - Politics/History/Government Text                             o
 o͵o
 o 15 Nov 1993      NEW COMPRESSION RELATED FILE AREA                    o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a Compression Source File Area (#19).                      o
 o͵o
 o 12 Oct 1993        QWK MAIL DOOR ARCHIVER CHANGES                     o
 o                                                          o
 o Those of you using the Offline Mail Door, take note: I have added      o
 o support for a number of archivers in the Mail Door - a consequence of  o
 o this is that you *must* re-select your default archiver (via the Mail  o
 o Door).                                                                 o
 o͵o
 o 22 Sep 1993     NEW POLITICS/HISTORY TEXT FILE AREA                   o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have a Politics/History Text file area (#22).                   o
 o͵o
 o 18 Sep 1993               HARD DISK CRASH                             o
 o                                                          o
 o Well, it eventually happens to everyone, and it's happened here -      o
 o there was a hard disk crash (don't ask, though I will say that it was  o
 o the result of mistyping ONE letter).  Fortunately, I made a backup     o
 o yesterday before the BBS went up, so the loss is minimal.              o
 o                                                                        o
 o Anyone who logged on for the first time between 10:00pm, 17 Sep and    o
 o 1:00pm, 18 Sep will have to fill out the New User Questionnaire again. o
 o Also, if you uploaded any REP packets between those times, please      o
 o upload them again.  Also, remember that if any of those messages were  o
 o to me, obviously I cannot reply to them unless you re-upload them.     o
 o                                                                        o
 o Sorry for the trouble.                                                 o
 o͵o
 o  5 Aug 1993         ALLFILES LISTINGS AVAILABLE                       o
 o                                                          o
 o We now have ALLFILES.ARJ and NEWFILES.ARJ available for download.      o
 o͵o
