Re: Telnet BBS Interface

["Phil Abel" <phil_abel@nomorespamorviagraadsforme.prodigydotnet>]

I wrote a VB6 application that I have successfully used to connect to my
GBBS system over a telnet connection.  Basically I have a null modem
connection between my PC and my IIgs.  I use the MSWinsock control to listen
to a telnet port for a connection.  Then I use the MSComm control to talk to
the BBS over the serial port.  When a telnet connection is detected I just
send a "CONNECT 9600" event to the serial port and the BBS takes over.  Then
I just use winsock dataarrival() and mscomm oncomm() events to relay text
from telnet --> BBS and BBS --> telnet.  I also have some monitors that
check to see if a connection is dropped by BBS or client and reset
everything appropriately.  I even have a little status panel on my app that
simulates a modem with DCD, DTR, RD, SD, etc. "blinky lights" on it :)  I
haven't been able to get x/y-modem file xfers to work with it but text works
with no loss.

Since I am using cable modem I also added a FTP upload/download control into
the project and wrote the program to constantly monitor my local IP address
and update my BBS website with the appropriate telnet link whenever it
changes (or I could just use a dynamic dns service).  So then you can just
go to my www address and there will always be a link to the current telnet
address/port.  I even have it set up so that when the BBS is connected it
passes the connection to another handling socket, so the "listening" socket
can always be available to tell any subsequent connections that the system
is "busy" while the BBS is in use.  Otherwise you just get no response from
the host and you don't know whether it is down or busy.  Much more user
friendly.  Next step would be to build a "queue" so that a subsequent
connection will be put into a FIFO queue and automatically be logged on once
the system becomes available.  Too bad GBBS can't support multi lines or
else I could just have multiple nodes.

I played around with it a little bit just as a hack, initially having plans
to put the GBBS system back up.  My interface works great but I never did
anything else with it.  The board would need a little work to be able to be
opened back up, so the time commitment to that plus my doubts that anyone
would call it regularly after the initial novelty wore off kept me away.
The other GBBS/Metal telnet boards that were around didn't seem to have much
interest around them.  But if there is interest among the a2/retro computing
community maybe I will rethink putting it up.  I have a whole bunch of
classic GBBS games (spacer quest, SPUR, empire, etc) that could provide some
entertainment value anyway and plenty of disk space for message bases.  :)



"Jeff Ledger" <jledger@cyberstreet.com> wrote in message
706f6242.0309190508.783932d1@posting.google.com">news:706f6242.0309190508.783932d1@posting.google.com...
> Guys,
>
> Several members of the (comp.sys.cbm) group have gotten
> together to connect their 8bit machines to their broadband
> connection using homebrew interfaces.   The end result of
> having original BBS programs connected to the Internet.
> Being able to dial from an 8bit machine and connect to
> an 8bit machine has been acomplished.
>
> I've been keeping a website record of these activities,
> (http://www.petscii.com)
> but since I actually owned/loved several 8bit computers
> over the years, I thought I'd expand the website to
> include other machines doing the same thing.
>
> I'm not sure if this has been done on the Apple II
> series, but the software and interfaces we've been
> using should be compatible.
>
> Can someone fill me in on what the Apple diehards
> are doing along these lines?
>
> Jeff