393 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
393 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
revision
|
|
Louhal #1 @10
|
|
Thu Sep 03 09:28:02 1992
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
|
|
Ô͸ Éͼ ³ ÉÍÍÍ͸ º Ô¸ ÉÍÍ͸ º ³ È» Ô¸ ɼ Ô¸ ÉÍÍ͸ º ³ É͸ É͸ º
|
|
³ º ³ º Ôͼ ³ º Ôͼ ³ ̸ È» ³ º ³ º Ôͼ Ôͼ ³ º Ôͼ
|
|
³ º ³ º ³ ÈÍÍ» ³ ºÔ¸ È» ³ º ³ ÈÍÍ» ³ º
|
|
³ º ³ º ³ ÉÍͼ ³ º Ô¸ È»³ º ³ ÉÍͼ ³ º
|
|
³ º ³ º ÕÍ» ³ º ÕÍ» ³ º Ô¸ ȵ º ³ º ÕÍ» ³ º
|
|
Õ; ÈÍ» ³ ÈÍÍÍ; º Õ¾ ÈÍÍ; º Õ¾ È» Ô¸ º Õ¾ ÈÍÍ; º Õ¾ È»
|
|
ÔÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍͼ
|
|
ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍ» ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
|
|
³ È» Ô¸ ɼ Ô¸ ÉÍÍ͸ º Ô¸ ɼ Ô¸ ɼ ³ ÉÍÍÍ͸ º
|
|
³ ̸ È» ³ º ³ º Ôͼ ³ º ³ º ³ º Ôͼ
|
|
³ ºÔ¸ È» ³ º ³ ÈÍÍ» ³ º ÕÍÍ» ³ º ³ ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
|
|
³ º Ô¸ È»³ º ³ ÉÍͼ ³ º ³ º ³ º ÔÍÍÍÍÍ͸ º
|
|
³ º Ô¸ ȵ º ³ º ÕÍ» ³ º ³ º ³ º ÕÍ» ³ º
|
|
Õ¾ È» Ô¸ º Õ¾ ÈÍÍ; º ³ È; È; º ³ ÈÍÍÍ; º
|
|
ÔÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ What Does a Sysop Want in a User?....................IceNET Sysops Speak ³
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ Tandy's New Multimedia PC............................DataNET News ³
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ Ted Kury's Tradewars Primer..........................Forest News Staff ³
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ IceNET Puzzle of the Month...........................Louhal ³
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ More Fun than you can shake a stick at!..............Louhal Quote! ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
Edited by Bubba @10
|
|
Compiled by Louhal@10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Question: "As a sysop, who do you think is the ideal user?"
|
|
This question prompted many sysops to e-mail me a series of very interesting
|
|
answers.
|
|
|
|
In starting out with very limited experience with BBSing, I found it
|
|
was a very harsh and cruel jungle in the electronic world. My main interest
|
|
was just wanting to meet new and different people. What I found was a lot of
|
|
frustration and mental abuse from what I had heard was a very enjoyable hobby.
|
|
|
|
I had visions of hacking at late hours, calling and connecting to
|
|
these great mainframes in search of a new knowledge that I could share with
|
|
other people.
|
|
|
|
Well, if you're starting out, you must know of what I'm talking about.
|
|
You're typing along on the keys of your keyboard passing the time away at
|
|
Tradewars when all of a sudden you're wisked away back to the main screen with
|
|
the sysop typing franticly [QUIT PLAYING GAMES AND POST!]
|
|
|
|
Well! As far as I knew, I'd done nothing wrong. Where did this
|
|
agression come from? Then I'm hit with the dreaded post/call ratio. I guess
|
|
it gets good later, so I keep on. So I quit playing, then it's off to the
|
|
file libraries. What's up with the up/download ratio bit? This is the fun
|
|
I've heard about? I should quit this now. I didn't need this. This
|
|
experience prompted me to start my own BBS. Had I known what was expected of
|
|
me, it would have been different. I asked sysops to tell me what they would
|
|
call a "member in good standing." I'd like to share those answers with the
|
|
users of IceNET.
|
|
|
|
Every sysops answer was derived from past experiences. This is
|
|
what a few had to say. Jim #1 @1 responded, "First and foremost, I want them
|
|
to call and have a good time. I want them to post what they think, and learn
|
|
from them. I want them to be fun to share ideas with. If they play games, I
|
|
know that eventually, they will post. If they transfer files, I'd hope they
|
|
upload some good ones from time to time. My users ARE the bbs, and their
|
|
satisfaction is my primary concern."
|
|
|
|
Another sysop, Tiki #1 @5902 writes, "As a sysop I don't care whether
|
|
my users prefer downloading or participating in subs. I figure the board is
|
|
here for their fun and pleasure."
|
|
|
|
Pcfreak #1 @6260 writes, "I have been BBSing for three years and have
|
|
a pretty good idea about what many users out there want. Simply put: NO
|
|
HASSLE!"
|
|
|
|
Martin #1 @6257 added his opinion in saying,"What I look for in a
|
|
caller is someone who will act like a responsible adult. People who are just
|
|
going to download and download & play the online games for hours, but who
|
|
never post or upload, are not the kind of "quality" caller I'm looking for."
|
|
|
|
Rev. Vinnie #1 @2453 adds,"I, like yourself, was very dissapointed
|
|
after logging on and finding out what some of these SysOp's idea of 'Fun' was.
|
|
It would seem a good many of them simply ran boards so users would call them
|
|
and upload files. Others 'demanded' that you make a certain amount of posts
|
|
per logon, which would be anywhere from 1-5 which tended to lead to a
|
|
frantic amount of streak postings like 'This is to meet my ratio', which
|
|
then turned the SysOp into an irrate imbecile. I try to provide a good even
|
|
flow of all the parts of the board. Not force the users to go where *I* want
|
|
them to, but rather let them choose what they would like to do. The board has
|
|
many areas for a reason, and to me that reason is to have FUN, and I feel that
|
|
by limiting any one of those areas you are limiting the total amount of user
|
|
satisfaction."
|
|
|
|
The Doctor #1 @7750 writes "Before I upgraded my system, I was mostly
|
|
a Message base only BBS. I had some files but not many. At that time, I had
|
|
no download ratio and only a 1:4 Post to call ratio. Now I have a 200 meg
|
|
drive and one of the largest file sections in my area plus carry 50 on-line
|
|
games to boot. After getting used to massive leech raids, I realized that by
|
|
adding the files and games, I was giving more for the users to do here. I
|
|
removed all the ratios and found that my posts didn't drop. I got uploads
|
|
even though I didn't require or ask for any. To answer your question, I guess
|
|
I'd say that most users tend to be ok with regards to uploads and games. Some
|
|
people leech. Some people play games. Some people post. Everybody seems to
|
|
participate, so I'm happy."
|
|
|
|
As you can tell, many sysops can have a variety of ideas of how they
|
|
judge a user as "a good user." One thing a new user can do is when joining a
|
|
new board ask the sysop their policy of the board to remain a user in good
|
|
standing. This will cause less problems in the future.
|
|
|
|
Remember also that you can judge a sysop as well. A BBS is an
|
|
investment of an individual, and he or she may run it as they see fit. They
|
|
don't have to give you any special privileges, or listen to any complaints
|
|
that you may have, especially without any monetary help from you as a user.
|
|
There are many boards in your area that you can call if the sysop's opinions
|
|
conflict with yours. There is no reason to let one sysop destroy the spirit
|
|
of what could be an enjoyable and fulfilling hobby.
|
|
|
|
I wish to thank all the sysops that wrote back to me and helped make
|
|
this section of the newsletter:
|
|
|
|
Jim #1@1 - [The Great White North] - 716-837-0044
|
|
Rev. Vinnie #1@2453 - [Slackland [ASV]] - 214-307-8437
|
|
Tiki #1@5902 - [Tiki's Express] - 509-624-2480
|
|
Martin #1@6257 - [Amiga Blues] - 612-591-1781
|
|
The Doctor #1@7750 - [The Doctor's Office] - 717-823-0027
|
|
|
|
|
|
{ Some or all quotes were edited or shortened to keep context of the story. In
|
|
no way is it intended to belittle, shame, or ignore the ideas or opinions of
|
|
the writers... Louhal }
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a small puzzle of a few of the systems in the
|
|
net. Find Louhal in here also.
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMBER N O A D N A L K C A L S R E P
|
|
AMIGABLUES A O M Q M K T G W N R N C Z J
|
|
COLDFUSION I V I E X U R F H E A I I D W
|
|
DOCTORSOFFICE T H G S O X M C B L F U P L V
|
|
FOREST S J A V U M H M C F S P V K O
|
|
IFTV E T B T V F A S O B A D C A R
|
|
PARADOX R I L W B Q D S F Q N X W L T
|
|
SANSORA O I U A H R R L Z L S X H H E
|
|
SLACKLAND F U E V A O E U O E O J Y G X
|
|
STARBASE Q L S Z T J D D C C R K D X R
|
|
TGWN C D I C Y F T R E Q A I G T E
|
|
TIKISEXPRESS E W O R F Y I J Y S A T X L S
|
|
VORTEX H D M H Z P A R A D O X G J N
|
|
WIZARDSCLAN W B T I K I S E X P R E S S U
|
|
XTASY L O U H A L S T A R B A S E G
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29-AUG-1992 Quote of the Day By United Press International
|
|
|
|
|
|
White House staff representative Tom Scully, describing the
|
|
escalation of aid to southern Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew:
|
|
|
|
"Every thing we could get is on the way, and if it's not enough
|
|
we'll get more."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tandy's New Multimedia PC!
|
|
|
|
The Sensation! is Tandy Corp.'s new Multimedia Personal Computer (MPC).
|
|
Multimedia is a standard part of every facet of the Intel 486SX-25 machine.
|
|
A Microsoft Windows organizer called Tandy WinMate was developed to take
|
|
advantage of the computer's multimedia fucntionality. "With a full range of
|
|
multimedia features, an impressive array of software applications, voice mail,
|
|
text to speech technology, true digital stereo, fax capability, and optional
|
|
full-function TV display -- it truly represents a new dimension in personal
|
|
computing," said Bernard S. Appel, senior vice president of Tandy.
|
|
|
|
The Sensation! computer has 4 Meg. of RAM (expandable to 32 Meg.),
|
|
3.5-inch floppy drive, 107 Meg. hard drive, internal CD-ROM drive (375 ms
|
|
access time), Tandy Enhanced Sound (MPC 12-bit ADC/DAC), 2400 baud modem with
|
|
voice mail and fax capabilities. Three 16-bit ISA expansion slots are avail-
|
|
able for additional option, such as the $399 PC/TV board which makes the
|
|
computer a full-function 122-channel cable-ready TV set. Graphics is enhanced
|
|
by use of the Tandy Multimedia chip to provide 16 million colors and faster
|
|
animation; SVGA graphics with 512k VRAM (exp. to 1 Meg.); and a Windows
|
|
accelerator. Built-in ports include: serial, parallel, mouse, MIDI, and dual
|
|
joystick ports. Microphone, headphone and stereo line out jacks are also
|
|
provided. A 101-key keyboard and two-button PS/2-style mouse are included
|
|
with the machine.
|
|
|
|
The healthy software bundle that will accompany the Sensation! includes
|
|
MS-DOS 5.0, Microsoft Windows 3.1 (with Multimedia Version), Tandy WinMate,
|
|
Microsoft Works for Windows (Multimedia Version), and Microsoft Bookshelf for
|
|
Windows. Communication software is provided for several nationwide on-line
|
|
services including Prodigy, America Online, and The Sierra Network (on-line
|
|
games).
|
|
|
|
The Tandy Sensation! appears to be an impressive multimedia computer
|
|
coming complete with just about everything to not only get started, but con-
|
|
tinue exploring multimedia technology. Unfortunately, you won't be able to
|
|
get your hands on the $1,999 multimedia wonder until October. We hope to have
|
|
a preview of Sensation! right before release time so we can better fill you in
|
|
on the WinMate software that Tandy developed for it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The answer to the Network Puzzle!
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMBER N . A D N A L K C A L S . E .
|
|
AMIGABLUES . O M . . . T G W N R N C . .
|
|
COLDFUSION . . I . . . . . . E A I . . .
|
|
DOCTORSOFFICE T . G S . . . . B L F . . . V
|
|
FOREST S . A . U . . M C F S . . . O
|
|
IFTV E . B . . F A S O . A . . . R
|
|
PARADOX R . L . . . D S . . N . . . T
|
|
SANSORA O . U . . R R L . . S . . . E
|
|
SLACKLAND F . E V A O . . O . O . . . X
|
|
STARBASE . . S Z T . . . . C R . . . .
|
|
TGWN . . I C . F . . . . A . . . .
|
|
TIKISEXPRESS . W O . . . I . Y S A T X . .
|
|
VORTEX . D . . . P A R A D O X . . .
|
|
WIZARDSCLAN . . T I K I S E X P R E S S .
|
|
XTASY L O U H A L S T A R B A S E .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRADEWARS
|
|
by Ted Kury
|
|
|
|
You probably haven't noticed but the Tradewars game has been reset. All
|
|
of you who have wanted to play, but didn't like starting with nothing will be
|
|
happy to hear that now everyone is starting out that way. I think this game
|
|
will be a lot better with more than 5 or 6 of us playing regularly, so I urge
|
|
anybody who's ever wanted to rule a corner of the galaxy, or cultivate a pro-
|
|
ductive world, or just blow people away to give the game a try.
|
|
|
|
Try Tradewars for a week, if you don't like it I will cheerfully come
|
|
over to your house and turn all the clocks back 2 or 3 hours so you won't even
|
|
have wasted any time playing the game. It's like getting the game for free !
|
|
|
|
For those who might feel the game is too complex, I offer a strategy
|
|
primer. This should only help you get started, but by then you'll develop
|
|
strategies of your own. Keep in mind, however, that I have only been playing
|
|
for a month myself, but I have learned a thing or two:
|
|
|
|
1) Download the help file. Read it while off-line and refer to it while
|
|
playing. All those commands can be confusing, but after a while you'll
|
|
only be using 8 or 9 frequently. TWINSTR.DOC is under 'Utilities' on
|
|
The Forest or in some kind of area on another BBS.
|
|
|
|
2) Find milk runs. In your travels you will certainly find ports one or
|
|
two sectors from each other that buy each others' goods. Going back
|
|
and forth between these is a good way to build up capital in a short
|
|
period of time, and money is the name of the game, or at least the
|
|
means to an end.
|
|
|
|
3) Put off fighting. For a while, anyway. Until you build up decent
|
|
battle capabilities - 500 to 600 shields and 1300 fighters or so,
|
|
an investment of about 300,000 credits, you should learn to run away
|
|
and stay near the Federation sectors. Put most of your early cash
|
|
into about 100 shields and as many cargo holds as you can buy, this
|
|
will allow you to make more from each cargo transaction. Even if the
|
|
Ferrengi you (S)urrender to take some of your cargo holds, you're
|
|
better off in the long run. Your day will come.
|
|
|
|
4) Find Stardock. Until you find Stardock, you can't buy a new ship, so
|
|
if your attitude gets you killed, you'll float around in your Escape
|
|
Pod. You can't do any real fighting in a Merchant Cruiser anyway, so
|
|
grit your teeth and swallow your pride until you have some real muscle.
|
|
|
|
5) Ask others for help. Community is the name of the game. If you have
|
|
any questions or proposals I'm the Day-Glo Pirate (from Jethro Tull,
|
|
in case you were wondering). Raistlin and Spectre seem to be the best
|
|
players on this The Forest BBS, and they may be able to help you out
|
|
even more. The worst anyone can say is no.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is Part II of my Tradewars Strategy Primer. By now you should
|
|
have built a fortune of 100,000 Credits (CR hereafter) or so, have 100-150
|
|
experience points, and found Stardock. You've been robbed a few times by the
|
|
Ferrengi, and you're probably also sick to death of doing nothing but trading.
|
|
Now you're wondering, 'Is this all there is to the game? What next?' Fear not,
|
|
gentle reader, trading will always be part of the game, but you've barely
|
|
scratched the surface.
|
|
|
|
1) Put 50,000 CR in the bank and leave it there. No, it won't earn
|
|
interest, and yes, you could buy 200 fighters with it but don't touch
|
|
it. You'll be taking risks and making enemies, and sooner or later
|
|
one of your enemies will be better than you. Making enough money to
|
|
buy another Starmaster with the cargo holds on an Escape Pod is very
|
|
frustrating. Put the money away just in case. It's easier than
|
|
starting over.
|
|
|
|
2) Buy a new ship. You should be able to trade your Merchant Cruiser in
|
|
for about 24,000 CR and this is a good chunk of a new and better ship.
|
|
Go over the ship catalog, and choose the best ship for you. Two of the
|
|
best overall ships are the Battleship, one of the best fighters in the
|
|
game, and the Starmaster. You can only acquire Corporate Flagships
|
|
and Imperial Starships in special circumstances so cross those off
|
|
your wish list for now. The Starmaster gets my nod because you get
|
|
more moves with it per day - 80 to the Battleship's 50.
|
|
|
|
3) Stay good. The friendly skies are not terribly friendly for good
|
|
traders, but less friendly still for evil ones. Good traders - the
|
|
majority of the players - will get bonuses for killing you. Coupled
|
|
with the threat of the Ferrengi, you will find you have very few
|
|
friends. If you have your mind set on being evil - and there are
|
|
advantages, believe me - wait until you've built a stable power
|
|
base and then turn to the dark side. It's easy to lower your align-
|
|
ment in a hurry if you really try.
|
|
|
|
4) Start a planet. Genesis Torps cost 25,000 CR, and you'll have to kill
|
|
a few days building up your planet and protecting it, but it's well
|
|
worth your time. Planets can produce goods to sell, fighters to use,
|
|
and a safe place to rest. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time
|
|
running colonists to it - found on the planet in sector 1 - in the
|
|
beginning. So pick a sector within 5 or 6 jumps of sector 1, and as
|
|
out of the way as possible.
|
|
|
|
5) Watch out for Ferrengi. The exhilaration of blowing away that first
|
|
Ferrengi will be tempered by the damage that his Corbomite Devices do
|
|
to your ship. After that, every Ferrengi in space will be after you,
|
|
so be prepared for retribution. The longest I've ever lasted after
|
|
taking out a Ferrengi was two days. If you must attack someone,
|
|
attack aliens. You don't get any cash for it but they don't hold
|
|
grudges, either.
|
|
|
|
6) If you need help, ask. Once again, I'm the Day-Glo Pirate.
|
|
|
|
See you at the Tavern !
|
|
|
|
*********************************************************************
|
|
º The opinions and reviews expressed herein are the expressed º
|
|
º views of the respective writers, and do not necessarily reflect º
|
|
º those of the IceNET News Staff. º
|
|
********************************************************************* |
|
|
|