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Introduction: What this BBS can do for you
The Office of Research and Development's
Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS or
''Board") is designed to facilitate the ex-
change of technical information and ORD
products among EPA Headquarters, labora-
tory and Regional staff and contractors;
States; other Federal agencies, universities,
industry, and the public. It is easy to use
and requires little computer expertise. The
BBS offers
• an electronic message system,
• brief bulletins with information
about ORD products and activities,
• files for downloading,
• participation in conferences (subject-
oriented subsets of the BBS), and
• online databases for identifying
ORD publications.
This guide is an overview of the major
components and capabilities of the BBS. In
addition to this guide, there is online help
for each command. To use help once you
are on the system, type H followed by a
space and then the first letter of the com-
mand. There is also a file (HELP.ZIP) on the
BBS that you can download to your com-
puter (see page 17 for instructions on how
to download). The file contains the text of
all help screens for the BBS, except for the
Database which has its own help file.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Getting started
Equipment In order to use the ORD BBS you will need
the following:
A Personal Computer or Terminal: Almost
any computer or terminal will do, as long as
it can be connected to a telephone line via a
modem.
A Modem: A modem is used to connect
your computer or terminal to a telephone
line. Almost any 1200 or 2400 baud modem
will work fine. A Hayes compatible modem
is recommended, and is required by many
communications programs running on IBM
PC or AT compatible computers. You may
also require cables and telephone jacks to
connect your modem to your computer or
terminal and to the telephone system.
You do not need a
sophisticated commu-
nications software
package to work with
the ORD BBS—any
communications
software will be
adequate to connect
to the BBS.
Configuring your
system
A Communications Program: This is
necessary only if you are using a computer
to connect to the Board (terminals have
built-in communications programs).
CrossTalk, the EPA standard microcom-
puter communications program, is a good
choice for use with the ORD BBS. Smartcom
and Procomm are other common communi-
cations programs.
Before connecting to the ORD BBS, you
must first set certain parameters in your
terminal or communications program so
that your system "speaks the same lan-
guage" as the ORD BBS. Most terminals or
communications programs have a "setup"
or "communication parameters" screen that
allows you to make these settings.
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The BBS will accept
calls with communi-
cations parameters
set at 7, E, and 1 (7
data bits, even parity,
1 stop bit). However,
if you use these
parameters, you must
change the settings
to 8, N, and 1 as soon
as you are connected
to the BBS (BEFORE
you type anything on
the keyboard, includ-
ing the key).
General
First, you must set your system to operate
at 1200 or 2400 baud (depending on your
modem's capabilities), 8 data bits, 1 stop bit,
and no parity. If you later dial up the Board
(as described below) and receive only
"garbage characters," then it is very likely
that one or more of these parameters has
not been set correctly on your system. If this
is the case, then hang up, reset these param-
eters, and try dialing in again. These set-
tings can be changed in all communications
programs. The following are the procedures
for using CrossTalk software on an IBM-
compatible PC and Smartcom software on a
Macintosh computer. If you have trouble
setting up or connecting to the Board, call
513-569-7272 (8-684-7272 FTS). For long
distance add 1 as a prefix or your local long
distance prefix.
Setup using CrossTalk on a PC
The following commands can be given
from the CrossTalk command line. Type the
letters in bold on the left, press the
key and then type the bold characters in the
next column.
NAme
NUmber
SPeed
MOde
DAta
PArity
Slop
EMulation
INfilterOff
ORDBBS
513-569-7610
(1200 or 2400)
Originate
8
N
1
VT100
CrossTalk Setup
Optional
(Don't forget the "9" or "8" prefix if your
phone system uses one. Use 8-684-7610 if
you are calling FTS.)
Choose 1200 or 2400 depending on the
speed of your modem.
Sets full duplex and enables outgoing calls.
Optional, but is required for PC graphics.
Optional, but is required for PC graphics.
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Setup using Smartcom on a Macintosh
computer
Under the Connection menu, select "Phone
number/' Enter 513-569-7610 or 8-684-7610
FTS (include the "9" or "8" prefix if your
phone system uses it). Click OK to save.
Under the Settings menu, select "Speed and
Format". Make sure the 'Transmission
speed" is set at 1200 or 2400, "Bits per
character" is set at 8, "Stop bits" is set at 1,
and "Parity" is set at none. Click OK to save
these settings.
Under the Settings menu, select "Autotype
protocol". Click on the circle next to "Nor-
mal" on the top line. Under "End of Line",
make sure the boxes next to "Insert word
wrapping at column..." and "Insert line
feeds" are unchecked. If they are checked,
click on the box to uncheck them. Click OK
to save.
Under the Settings menu, click on the circle
next to VT102. Click OK to save.
When you close the file, save the changes
and name the file ORDBBS.
Additional settings
Select "full duplex" or "no local echo" if
your system allows these settings. If you
dial up the Board and every letter you type
is displayed twice on your screen, you
should check these parameters before
continuing.
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Finally, select VT100 (or "ANSI-BBS")
terminal emulation if you are using an IBM-
compatible PC and your system permits it.
This will usually allow you to select "graph-
ics mode" on the Board. After you dial up, if
some of the screens 'look funny" (for
example, there are extraneous characters in
the text, or boxes come out as letters rather
than lines), then it is likely that your termi-
nal emulation is not compatible with the
Boards's graphics mode. In this case, you
should simply set color/graphics mode off
on the Board after you dial up. Type M from
the "Main Board Command?" prompt to
toggle color/graphics mode on/off. Graph-
ics mode cannot be used on a Macintosh.
There are often many other settings that can
be made on a terminal or in a communica-
tions program. The other settings will
depend on your computer, modem, or your
own personal preferences.
Online
registration
For experi-
enced users...
To make the sign-on
process faster, you
can enter your first
name, last name, and
password on the same
line:
john doe password
You do not need to be pre-registered to dial
into the BBS. When you sign on for the first
time, you will choose your own password
and supply the registration information.
After you see the welcoming screen, the
system will prompt you for your name,
password (of your choice), organizational
affiliation, telephone numbers, and your
interest in the BBS. The system will then
process the information and give you a
message saying it has saved the registration
information. You will then have full access
to the Main Board. See page 15 for informa-
tion about participating in conferences.
Record your chosen password in a safe
place. You will not be allowed back in the
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BBS if you forget it. Do not share your
password with anyone else—each user
should sign on in his or her own name.
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Message capabilities
Reading messages
For experi-
enced users..
To scan for messages
on the Main Board and
all the conferences at
once, type:
YASNS
You can use several approaches to read
messages on the Board. The two most
common are browsing public messages and
reading individual messages addressed to
you. Letters in parentheses are the
subcommands that can be used. They are
fully explained below and in the BBS's
online help.
Browsing (R, RS, +, -)
This approach allows you to read all public
messages which include messages ad-
dressed to "ALL" users, as well as messages
left to individual users. To browse all public
messages that were left since the last time
you read messages, type R S. To browse all
messages, type R. You will then see a
prompt listing the high and low message
numbers (e.g., 2-100). To read messages
beginning with the most recent, type the
higher number followed by a minus sign
(e.g., 100- in the example above). To browse
messages in the order they were left, type
the lower number followed by a plus sign
(e.g., 2+ in the example above).
Scanning for individual messages (Y, YS,
TS)
You can use several ways to scan mes-
sages. You can scan messages when you
sign on by answering yes (pressing ) to the prompt that reads, "Scan Mes-
sage Base Since 'Last Read' (Enter)=Yes/'
You can also see which messages are ad-
dressed to you or from you by typing Y (or
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Y S for those left since the last time you
read messages).
The BBS will scan the Main Board message
base and respond with the message:
Msg #s for you:
Msg #s from you:
# of messages found
The first line lists the message numbers of
the individual messages addressed to you.
The second line lists message numbers of
the individual messages you left for other
users. The third line lists the total number of
active messages that you have not yet read.
To scan the names of the addressee, sender,
and subject of messages (but not the mes-
sage text), type Q. You will be prompted to
enter the number of the message from
which you wish to start scanning.
Once you have found message numbers for
the messages you wish to read, type R and
then the number of the message (e.g., R 4).
To reply to a message you have just read,
type RE at the "End of Message Command"
prompt. For an explanation of the other end
of message options, type H at the prompt.
To search the message subjects for a particu-
lar word or phrase, type TS. You will be
prompted to enter the word or phrase to be
searched and the message number with
which to start the search.
Entering To enter a message, type E from the Main
(Sending) Board prompt. You will be prompted to
enter *e name °* *^e addressee. You can
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either enter a person's name or hit return to
address your message to all BBS users. You
will then be prompted to enter the subject of
your message. The next prompt will ask
you to enter the message security level.
Press to make the message read-
able by all users. To make the message
readable only by the addressee, type R for
''receiver only." Type H at this prompt to
see other options. Once you have entered
the message security, you will be prompted
to enter the text of your message. When you
have finished typing your message, hit
twice. You will then have a list of
options including:
• A (for abort),
• C (to continue the message),
• E (to edit again), and
• S (to send the message).
Editing messages To ^ vour message before you send it,
type E from the Command? prompt after
you have entered your message and hit
twice. You will be prompted for
the line number of the line containing the
error you want to correct. Then you will see
a prompt that says "Enter
(Oldtext;Newtext) or (Enter) alone for 'no
change/" This means you should enter the
word or string of characters you wish to
change followed by a semicolon and then
the same word or string as it should appear.
For example, if you typed the word watse
instead of waste, you would correct it by
typing watsejwaste. When you finish, you
will receive the same Command? prompt as
before. Type S to send the message.
Because the online message editing capabil-
. . ity is limited, for long messages it is prefer-
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able to prepare a file containing the text of
your message offline in a word processor.
To do this, save your text in ASCII (or text
only) format. Make sure the margins are set
for 72 characters or less and there are 60 or
fewer lines. Check your communications
software for the proper command for
sending a text file (in CrossTalk it is "Send;"
in Smartcom on the Macintosh, click on the
keyboard icon for "Autotype").
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Using the ORD Bibliographic Database
The ORD Bibliographic Database includes
abstracts of all ORD publications since 1977.
It is accessed typing OPEN 1 from the
"Main board command", or the main menu
from within any of the conferences.You can
search by the following items:
Title
Abstract
Author
Laboratory
Sponsor
Performing organization
EPA report number
NTIS order number
Contract or grant number
Year of publication
You can combine searches to search more
than one field at once. A complete guide to
searching the database is available on the
BBS in a file called OBDHELP.ZIP or
OBDHELP.TXT.
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Ordering Publications
The BBS allows users to place online orders
for some of the documents listed on the
ORD Bibliographic Database. The docu-
ments that indicate "Available from CERI:
Yes" in the full record display can be
ordered at no charge from the Center for
Environmental Research Information
(CERI) by typing "O "at the summary or
full display. Users can order a maximun
of ten publications per session. You can
check your list of orders typing "CH" at
the displays menu. In order to process
your request for publications we need
to know your name, address and phone
number. The database program checks
for any tagged document for ordering,
and will prompt the user for the name,
address and phone number. If you do
not supply this information, your re-
quest will not be processed.
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Information Sources: News/Bulletins/Files
The BBS has a number of information
sources including:
• the News screen (with news about
activities on the BBS),
• bulletins (normally short and easy to
read online), and
• files (usually lengthier and meant to
be downloaded and used from the
user's computer).
BBS News
The listing of news about the BBS automati-
cally displays when you sign onto the board
for the first time and thereafter whenever
the news changes. It contains information
about new features and files on the BBS,
announcements of events, and notices about
any interruption of service on the BBS. To
display this file, type NEWS from the
"Main Board Command?" prompt.
Bulletins Bulletins are ASCII, or "text-only," files that
users can read online. Typical bulletins
include schedules, announcements, staff
rosters, program plans, bibliographies, or
instructions for using the BBS. Most bulle-
tins come from files uploaded by users.
To read a bulletin, type B. You will see a list
of bulletins. Type the number of the one
you wish to see. If you know the number of
a bulletin, you can type B followed by a
space and the number of the bulletin to
bypass the list of bulletins (e.g., B 2). Bulle-
tins are also available for downloading.
Each bulletin is in a file called BLTx where x
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Files
For experi-
enced users...
Ways to scan files:
L searches a file
name
Z searches a text
string
N searches for
new files
Combine any of the
above commands
with an A (e.g., L A)
to scan the Main
Board and all
conferences at
once.
is the number of the bulletin. See page 17
for information on downloading.
The BBS offers a number of files such as
databases, utilities, and expert systems that
users can download to their own computer.
To see a list of files, type F. You will see a
menu listing categories of files. Choose the
number of the category that interests you.
Then you will see a list of the available files.
From this list, make a note of the filenames
that interest you. You cannot download the
files from this menu. See page 17 for infor-
mation on downloading.
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Participating in a conference
The BBS has a number of mini-bulletin
boards known as conferences. These confer-
ences have all of the same functions and
capabilities as the Main Board (messages,
files, bulletins, doors), but they are limited
to a specific subject area.
The BBS presently has five conferences:
1. Expert Systems—support, distribu-
tion, updates, and discussion of ORETs
expert systems
2. Biotechnology—a forum for discus-
sion of biotechnology engineering and
technology including the use of geneti-
cally and non-genetically engineered
microbes
3. Regional Operations—primarily
intended for Regional Scientists, but
open to anyone
4. Water Regulations*—a forum to
exchange information about the Office
of Water's regulatory agenda and ORUs
research activities on water
5. Methods Standardization/QA
News—a weekly update on highlights
of EPA methods research/standardiza-
tion activities and on the availability of
QA materials for use by environmental
monitoring laboratories and regulatory
agencies
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In order to enter a conference, you may
have to be "registered" for that conference.
Some conferences, such as those starred on
the previous page, are automatically open
to all BBS users. Others require a request to
register. To become registered for a confer-
ence, leave a comment to the SYSOP (Sys-
tem Operator) listing the conferences in
which you wish to be registered (type C at
the Main Board Command prompt to leave
a comment to the SYSOP). The SYSOP will
then change your user record enabling you
to join the conference, generally by the next
business day.
To join a conference, type J followed by a
space and then the number of the confer-
ence you wish to join (e.g., J 1).
To exit a conference and return to the Main
Board, type A (for abandon). To exit a
conference and join a different conference,
type J followed by a space and the number
of the conference you wish to join.
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Uploading and downloading files
There are three steps involved in uploading
or downloading a file from your computer
to the bulletin board system:
• setting the file transfer protocol,
• giving the BBS the command for
uploading or downloading, and
• giving your communications soft-
ware the command to send or
receive the file.
Transfer prOtOCOl The transfer protocol is the set of commands
used by your communications software and
the BBS software when sending or receiving
files. The transfer protocol verifies that the
data received is identical to the data the
other system sent. The protocol detects
errors in the data transmission and causes
the data to be re-sent if an error occurs. You
need to set the protocol on the BBS so it will
match the protocol that your communica-
tions software uses. If you are not sure
which protocol to choose, check your
communications software manual to see
which protocol(s) it supports.
The BBS supports Xmodem, Ymodem,
Zmodem, Kermit, and several other transfer
protocols. To set the transfer protocol (or
change it), type T from the Main Board
prompt and then choose the appropriate
protocol from the list. Once it has been set,
you do not need to change it for each
upload or download. However, it can be
changed, if necessary.
The next step in the upload/download
process (or first step if you already have a
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transfer protocol selected) is to give the
proper BBS command to upload or down-
load.
BBS commands Downloading
For experi-
enced users..
You can combine
commands for either
uploading or down-
loading on one line.
For example:
d help.zip X
gives the command to
download the file
help.zip using the
Xmodem file transfer
protocol.
To download, type D at the Main Menu.
You will then be prompted to enter the
name of the file you wish to download.
After you have entered the filename, the
BBS will check to be sure that the file is
available on the BBS and then will give you
the following message:
Checking file transfer request. Please wait ...
Download time:
Download size:
Total will be:
Protocol type:
File Selected:
(Ctrl-X) Aborts; Execute local contnand
(with the appropriate information filled in).
You will then have about 60 seconds to give
your communications software the com-
mand to receive the file (see below).
Uploading
To upload a file, the BBS command is U at
the Main Menu. After you type U, the BBS
will ask you for the name of the file to be
uploaded. After you enter the filename, the
BBS will respond:
Checking file transfer request. Please wait ...
Before beginning, enter a description of
(Filename)
( •
At this prompt, type in a description that
will go in the directory of files to tell users
the name and purpose of the file. If you
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wish to leave a longer description, leave a
message to the SYSOP with the text of the
description. If you want the file to be visible
only to the SYSOP, type a slash (/) as the
first character of the file description. After
you have entered the file description, the
BBS will respond as follows:
Upload Drive: 17981440 Bytes Free Disk Space
Upload Status: Screened Before Posting
Protocol Type:
File Selected:
(Ctrl-X) Aborts; Execute local command
(with the appropriate information filled in).
You will then have about 60 seconds to give
your communications software the com-
mand to transmit the file from your com-
puter to the BBS (see below).
Once you have given the BBS the proper
command for uploading or downloading,
you must give your communications soft-
ware a command. For uploading, the
command is usually called SEND or
TRANSMIT (in CrossTalk, the command to
send an Xmodem transfer is "XX" followed
by the filename; in Smartcom on the Macin-
tosh, click on the "Send" icon) For down-
loading, the command is usually called
RECEIVE (in CrossTalk, the command to
receive an Xmodem transfer is "RX" fol-
lowed by the filename; in Smartcom on the
Macintosh, click on the "Receive" icon.). If
you don't know the name of the command
in the program you are using, check your
manual. Once you have given your commu-
nications software the command to send or
receive, the BBS will show that the file is
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1^
being transferred and tell you when the
transfer is complete.
Capturing
Screen Data
To capture from the screen using Crosstalk,
press , type "CA", press . It
will ask where; type the destination drive
and give it a name, press . Your
data from the screen will be captured to
the destination drive. Remember to turn
off the capture before downloading files or
bulletins. Press , type" CA OFF", and
press .
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Appendix—BBS Commands
[A]bandon a Conference
[BJulletin Listings
[CHAT] with other users
[Qomment to SYSOP
[DJownload a File
[E]nter a Message
[F]ile Directories
[G]oodbye
Melp
[IJnitial Welcome
[J]oin a Conference
[Klill a Message
Exits a conference (if you're in one) and
returns you to the Main Board menu.
Displays a menu of bulletins and allows
you to select one to read.
Allows you to communicate directly
with someone else who is logged on
through another telephone line. Note
that the command requires the four
letters CHAT, unlike most commands.
Allows you to leave a private message
to the SYSOP (SYStem OPerator).
Allows you to retrieve a file from the
BBS to your computer.
Allows you to type in a message to
another user or users.
Describes the directories from which
files may be downloaded.
Logs off the system and hangs up the
phone.
Displays context-sensitive help on any
command in the menu.
Redisplays the first welcome screen.
Displays a menu of conferences and
allows you to join one.
Deletes a message from the system.
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[L]ocate a File
[M]ode (Graphics)
[N]ew Files
[OPEN] a Door
[Plage Length
[Qluick Message Scan
[R]ead a Message
Allows you to scan the file download
directories for a matching filename.
Changes to or from graphics mode,
depending on your current setting.
Scans directories for new files uploaded
since the date specified.
Allows you to temporarily "exit"
PCBoard to run an application program
(such as a database). Note that the
command requires the four letters
OPEN, unlike most commands. After
you exit from the door, you will be
returned to the main menu. This feature
may not be available at the time you
read this or within every conference.
Allows you to alter the number of lines
of text that are displayed on your screen
before asking if you want "More."
Scans all public messages for number
and subject.
Allows you to read messages. Sub-
commands are as follows:
[#] (Where # is the message number).
Allows you to read an individual mes-
sage if you know the number. Allows
you to read a range of numbers (e.g., 15+
to read messages 15 and higher)
[Slince. Allows you to read all messages
that have been left since the last time
you read messages.
[Y]ou. Allows you to read all messages
that are addressed to you.
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