Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!hacgate!miranda!smyers
From: smyers@miranda.dpl.scg.hac.com (Steven Myers)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: BBS under Coherent?
Message-ID: <14700@hacgate.UUCP>
Date: 3 May 91 23:44:20 GMT
References: <1991Apr7.023845.17542@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Sender: news@hacgate.UUCP
Reply-To: smyers@miranda.UUCP (Steven Myers)
Distribution: na
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 46

> Now that a newsreader has been ported to Coherent, I'm sure that the question
> of running a BBS under coherent is on people's minds.  While I don't know
> of any presently available BBS that will run in 64K, thinking back to the
> early days of BBSing, there were BBS's running on Apple II's with 48k and
> under.  Hence, it could be done under Coherent's present kernel.

One of the primariy reason I got Coherent was to develop an
inexpensive little UNIX bbs.  The basic idea is not to worry about
writing one monolithic BBS that has to run in less then 64K.  Instead
I want try to take advantage of the multi-user, multi-tasking features
already a part of UNIX (and Coherent).

> I'm wondering if anyone has done this.  Perhaps you wouldn't want a BBS
> under 'nix, but rather give users accounts and let them dial up to read News.
> However, I'm uncertain to whether their would be a sufficent user
> base for this.

Yes, this is basically what I had in mind, but I don't want to just
give users plain UNIX accounts.  I want to build a set of BBS like,
user friendly shell scripts.  The shell scripts would offer all the
features of a typical bbs (ie. e-mail, file UL/DL, message boards,
message editor) through the standard UNIX tools (ie. mail, xmodem, rn,
vi).  The basic idea is to customize the shell into a turnkey like bbs
system. 

I'm still not sure how feasable this all is.  I haven't even gotten
uucp, or even kermit working on my Coherent system yet.  Once I've
setup all the nice little tools I think I'll need I'll try
fusing them into a bbs.

Now a question I have for the net is, has this already been done?  I'm
sure my idea isn't so original that it hasn't already been done
on some UNIX system somewhere.  Can anyone point me to such a bbs,
or better yet a person who's tried to make such a bbs?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.  If people would rather
send replies directly to me, I will summarize and post to this board.

------------------------------------+----------------------------------------
Steven Myers                        | Internet: smyers@luna.dpl.scg.hac.com
Hughes                              |    Phone: 213-414-6261
Space and Communications Group      |      FAX: 213-414-6699
Bldg. S64, MS C409                  +----------------------------------------
PO Box 92919                        |     In UNIX anything is possible 
Los Angeles, CA 90009               |    but nothing of interest is easy
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