1. Forum
  2. FSXNet
  3. FSX BBS

  • Wire chatter description

    From sardaukar@21:2/114 to All on Thursday, March 16, 2017 16:21:00
    Hello!

    I'm working on my series of tutorials introducing techies (like me) to BBS development, and would love to gain some insight into BinkP, since I gather it's the biggest FTN-like protocol still around, due to its TCP/IP support.

    Is anyone specially proficient with it? Or can someone give me a hand in manipulating the status of a message base so that I can continuously poll my BBS and get the same response, so I can get used to parsing the results (without having to compose endless new messages to fetch)?

    Any help appreciated! And I hope to have something like a starter intro to telnet server coding ready this weekend - on the fsxNet wiki, if I get access.

    Cheers,

    --
    "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer."

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Scifi Hangout (21:2/114)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to sardaukar on Friday, March 17, 2017 06:52:00
    On 03/16/17, sardaukar pondered and said...

    I'm working on my series of tutorials introducing techies (like me) to
    BBS development, and would love to gain some insight into BinkP, since I gather it's the biggest FTN-like protocol still around, due to its
    TCP/IP support.

    Good stuff :)

    Is anyone specially proficient with it? Or can someone give me a hand in manipulating the status of a message base so that I can continuously
    poll my BBS and get the same response, so I can get used to parsing the results (without having to compose endless new messages to fetch)?

    You don't need to have a message to fetch in order to create a BinkP polling session. The handshake can still take place even if there are no message or file packets to exchange.

    You have a static IP right? I can set up the 1/100 HUB for you so you can
    poll that as often as you like to test connections etc. by adding your IP to
    a white list it won't auto ban/block it if you're polling lets say 4,5,6
    times inside 60 seconds.

    The other popular iteration/use of BinkP is the software BinkD and that's something I also run on the Fidonet HUB I run 3:770/1 on agency.bbs.geek.nz (default binkp port 24554) and on the fsxNet Usenet HUB 21:1/10 on port 24557

    I can enable one of those systems to also accept your frequent polling tests
    if you would like?

    Any help appreciated! And I hope to have something like a starter intro
    to telnet server coding ready this weekend - on the fsxNet wiki, if I
    get access.

    Thanks, I have an email that works for you so will send you an invite from
    the Wiki software later today my time.

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Tiny@21:1/130.3 to sardaukar on Thursday, March 16, 2017 15:51:00
    Hello sardaukar!

    16 Mar 17 16:21, you wrote to all:

    continuously poll my BBS and get the same response, so I can get used
    to parsing the results (without having to compose endless new messages
    to fetch)?

    You can poll whenever you want, you can't achieve real time in fido tech,
    but you can come very VERY close. ie: here in FSXNet, if you post a message and send it within seconds Paul's system has already processed it and sent
    it to other systems.

    Just remember BinkP is not /real time/ as say NNTP. It's still fidonet
    tech which isn't designed for real time, but is designed to still work in
    the case of a nuke fallout. (seriously)

    Shawn

    ... It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20160322
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - www.tinysbbs.com (21:1/130.3)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Tiny on Friday, March 17, 2017 10:08:00
    On 03/16/17, Tiny pondered and said...

    You can poll whenever you want, you can't achieve real time in fido tech, but you can come very VERY close. ie: here in FSXNet, if you post

    I agree, I'm always amazed how quickly banter goes back and forth across the globe. It's really cool.

    Just remember BinkP is not /real time/ as say NNTP. It's still fidonet tech which isn't designed for real time, but is designed to still work in the case of a nuke fallout. (seriously)

    And on that I want to be able to offer dial-up access to the network in the future. I just have to figure out a cost effective way to do it here. I only have one voice line over fibre and adding another is expensive :(

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to sardaukar on Friday, March 17, 2017 10:34:00
    On 03/16/17, sardaukar pondered and said...

    Is anyone specially proficient with it? Or can someone give me a hand in manipulating the status of a message base so that I can continuously
    poll my BBS and get the same response, so I can get used to parsing the results (without having to compose endless new messages to fetch)?

    Progress being made here setting up a specific test BinkP server for you to hammer. I will email you within 12 hours with the details.

    Hope this helps. I will also be able to send you some detailed logging of the connects if you wish.

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (21:1/101)
  • From sardaukar@21:2/114 to Avon on Thursday, March 16, 2017 23:08:00
    Thanks, this is great.

    The message part in bink is just to be able to fetch the same message
    multiple times, in case the parsing step doesn't work (which will be the case until I get it right). And I'm not sure how bink (the server) relates to file bases (on the filesystem) or how any of that works.

    On a more positive note, I'm learning a bunch about Telnet IAC codes, and I think I'll put up the first blog/wiki post this weekend for your
    consideration. I am using Crystal, which is a recent language that only
    exists for Linux and macOS at the moment, but I can translate the examples
    into Ruby easily (which has broader appeal).

    Excited about this! And thank again for the help!

    Cheers,

    --
    "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer."

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Scifi Hangout (21:2/114)
  • From Tiny@21:1/130.3 to Avon on Friday, March 17, 2017 06:13:00
    Hello Avon!

    17 Mar 17 10:08, you wrote to me:

    I agree, I'm always amazed how quickly banter goes back and forth
    across the globe. It's really cool.

    Sure is.

    And on that I want to be able to offer dial-up access to the network
    in the future. I just have to figure out a cost effective way to do it here. I only have one voice line over fibre and adding another is expensive :(

    Same as here... If I wanted a dialtone on my line the bill would go
    from $5 a month (what I pay for the dry loop) to like $35 a month, we
    scrapped the dialtone about 4 years back and haven't missed it much. ;)

    Shawn

    ... Help fight continental drift.
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20160322
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - www.tinysbbs.com (21:1/130.3)
  • From Nighthawk@21:1/146.1 to Avon on Friday, March 17, 2017 09:13:00
    On 03/17/17, Avon said the following...

    And on that I want to be able to offer dial-up access to the network in the future. I just have to figure out a cost effective way to do it
    here. I only have one voice line over fibre and adding another is expensive :(

    I noticed that the newer versions of Mystic eliminated the dial-up support... Considering you had a line in a cost-effective way, how would you set it up? Are there still mailers around to support dial-up, or would you
    need to resurrect Frontdoor?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (OSX)
    * Origin: Chiron, experimental system | Brazil (21:1/146.1)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Tiny on Saturday, March 18, 2017 07:58:00
    On 03/17/17, Tiny pondered and said...

    here. I only have one voice line over fibre and adding another is expensive :(

    Same as here... If I wanted a dialtone on my line the bill would go
    from $5 a month (what I pay for the dry loop) to like $35 a month, we scrapped the dialtone about 4 years back and haven't missed it much. ;)

    It's looking like $53 per month here! But there does seem to be a $10 per
    month add on that gives me a separate number on the same fibre line and a distinctive ring tone. Now the question that next springs to mind is would something like sexpots (that I have never used) be able to be trained to only answer a specific ring tone?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Nighthawk on Saturday, March 18, 2017 08:00:00
    On 03/17/17, Nighthawk pondered and said...

    And on that I want to be able to offer dial-up access to the network the future. I just have to figure out a cost effective way to do it here. I only have one voice line over fibre and adding another is expensive :(

    I have not tried this but the 'go-to' software to bridge dial up hardware to telnet seems to be SexPots which was developed for Synchronet but I
    understand can be used for other BBS software as well. Someone more knowledgeable may be able to correct me on this / add more info :)

    Best, Paul

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | telnet://agency.bbs.geek.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Tiny@21:1/130.3 to Avon on Sunday, March 19, 2017 08:57:00
    Hello Avon!

    18 Mar 17 07:58, you wrote to me:

    to mind is would something like sexpots (that I have never used) be
    able to be trained to only answer a specific ring tone?

    I know intermail could do that at one point. I always used a hardware
    "Ring Detector" for that stuff. Boy that's going back a long time, I
    am pretty sure I would have thrown it away many decades ago now. ;)

    Shawn


    ... History tends to exaggerate.
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20160322
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - www.tinysbbs.com (21:1/130.3)