Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU!GTHEALL
From: GTHEALL@PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU (George A. Theall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec.micro
Subject: RE: FIDONET ON COMPUSERV    Conf: (74) fRAINBOW
Message-ID: <8910112024.AA10664@remote.dccs.upenn.edu>
Date: 11 Oct 89 21:23:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 63

Comments: Rainbow Echomail from BILL MAYHEW    Read: YES

In my opinion, logging in at 300 to "look around" and then logging in at
2400 to download is far more trouble than it's worth, PARTICULARLY if you
are still in menu mode.  300 baud costs about half as much as 2400, but
is one-EIGHTH as fast!  Therefore (roughly speaking) if you spend any
more than 1/8 of your on-line time collecting information (as opposed to
typing it), you are spending more money at 300 than you would at 2400.
TAPCIS does NOT delete messages unless you explicitly tell it to.  The
Forums all keep track of your "high message counter" (not unlike this BBS).
TAPCIS "respects" that convention.  So if you log in with TAPCIS and it
downloads N messages for you, your high-water-mark will be set to the end
of that range, and those messages will appear as "already read" when you
log back in.
TAPCIS is designed to work as your SOLE interface to CIS.  You set it
up, hit a button, and it automatically logs in, goes from one Forum to another
and downloads all the new messages, or a list of all the message headers
from which you can pick interesting topics that will be picked up on your
next pass.  Regarding that last option, however, note that you need to make
that "next pass" right away if you expect the list of message headers to
remain valid.  Old messages constantly scroll off the Forums as new ones
are added.  Thus if you wait a day in between passes, and try to go back
to read an old thread (one near the beginning of the message board), the
chances are high that it won't be there any more.
TAPCIS doesn't run in MENU mode on CompuServe.  Neither do most experienced
users.  I STRONGLY recommend to ALL comers that they GO PRACTICE, which
is a Forum that allows you to play around with the Forum software at essential
no charge.  (NO connect time costs; only the comm surcharge applies.  If
you're calling a CompuServe node directly, that's $0.30/hour I believe,
REGARDLESS of baud rate.  If you're calling via Tymnet or Telenet or Datapac
or one of the overseas networks, then the financial picture is a LOT different
of course.)  You can poke around at "expert mode" in the PRACTICE Forum
'til you're comfortable with it, but once you have TAPCIS set up, you shouldn'
NEED to do _anything_ involving CompuServe navigation commands or any of
the rest of CompuServe's 'language'.
As far as new files in the DECPC Forum, you'll find that we put all new
uploads in ONE library for a period of at least (and usually much longer
than) 30 days.  That is Lib 3, which is called (surprisingly enough) "New
Uploads." <smile>
There is also a whole TAPCIS forum that is dedicated to supporting it.
GO TAPCIS takes you there.
One way to look at this is that there are over 500,000 CompuServe users
out there.  If they are all using it, it can't be _that_ tough.  On the
other hand, if $3.50 is a big expense for you, then CompuServe is DEFINITELY
not an appropriate use of your time and money.  Most users get a "starter
kit" when they join CompuServe (available at computer stores etc.) that
comes with a $25 usage credit, which is designed to be enough to allow you
to log on, poke around a bit, understand enough of the navigational language
to get by, and GO PRACTICE.
All of the above notwithstanding, I will be among the first to agree
that CIS' "language" (in which I lump all the navigational stuff as well
as the commands you issue to actually _do_ things) is not as intuitive
as it could be.  Unfortunately a lot of it is "grandfathered" into place,
since all the automated-programs like TAPCIS and the scripted programs like
LCTERM would break if changes were made.  A whole new language was introduced
a bit over a year ago, and by most accounts it is a BIG improvement over
the old.  There _is_ on-line help, but it is not always as useful or as
up-to-date as it should be.  Unfortunately I have NO control over this stuff;
believe me, I have complained about it (and continue to do so).

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