Section 6 -- Forums: Messages Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Joining a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Add a Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Selecting Reading Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 Clearing All Selected Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 Activate The New Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 Join The Forum Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Select All Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Quick Scan Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Q Forum Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Get New Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Mark the Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Get Marked Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 Header Marking Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Understanding Forum Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Read Thread Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 R Forum Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 R Forum Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 R Forum Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9 Marked Message Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Changing Forum Options/Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11 Selecting the Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11 Getting Updated Section Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11 Combining Q and R Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11 Reading Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13 Message Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 By Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 By Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 By Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 By Search Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 Message Replying & Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 Reply to This Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 Reply with a New Subject/Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15 Change Reply to a Different Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16 Delete This Message From the Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16 Save this message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16 Print this message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Shell to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Shell to Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Exit Back to Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Build an Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Write a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17 Forward a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18 Writing Forum Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 Writing a Forum Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 Entering the To: Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19 Entering the Message Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20 Message Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20 Editing the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20 Send the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20 Send Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21 Transmit the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21 Editing the .SND File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22 Maximum Message Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22 Splitting Long Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22 Retrieving Text into a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23 Search Another File/Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23 TAPCIS Forum Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-25 Advanced Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26 Advanced Commands Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26 TAPCIS(tm) Documentation Copyright (c) 1990, Support Group, Inc. 800-USA-GROUP, 301-387-4500 ======================================================================== Forums ======================================================================== Forums are where the action is! Forums are where you get to communicate with a wide audience. Your involvement can range from actively participating in the message exchange to passively absorbing the information. The choice is yours, but if you aren't writing and receiving messages, you are missing out on at least half the fun. It's exciting to check your mail and find several messages from other members. I (Richard) have been participating in CompuServe forums since 1984. Being involved does require a time commitment. Conversations move quickly as participants from around the world add their comments 24-hours a day. At times I've checked my messages 10 times in a single day. At other times I've monitored the forums no more than once a week. TAPCIS allows you to adjust your activities depending on your time, interests, and budget. My participation has been rewarding in countless ways. Professionally I've benefitted from the collective wisdom of thousands of others who face the same problems I face. Through the forums I've been able to make wise hardware and software choices by reading the trials of those on the "bleeding edge." Personally, I have made friends in all parts of the country. Some of these online friends know more about me, my business, and daily experiences than friends and family that live only a few miles away. If you are using CompuServe just to get the business information you need, you'll find what you want. It is the camaraderie and interplay, however, that keeps a forum dynamic and alive. TAPCIS is designed to let you join the exchange at the lowest possible cost and with the greatest ease. To encourage our user community to develop online friends and contacts, the TAPCIS Forum has two sections (7 and 8) where messages on a wide variety of topics are welcome. We even have an ongoing vocabulary game in Section 17. ------------------------------------ Joining a Forum Most CompuServe forums are "auto-membership" meaning that you need only tell CompuServe you want to join the forum and enter your name to become a "member" of the forum. TAPCIS makes it easy to join such a forum. You need to: * Add the forum on the orums screen. * Make the new forum the only active forum. * Go online with the command to join the forum and set the TAPCIS parameters. Add a Forum In this example we continue as a new TAPCIS user who has only CompuServe Mail defined. We will add the TAPCIS Forum. The same technique is used to add additional forums; you simply replace TAPCIS in the following examples with the name of the forum you want to join (e.g., PRACTICE, WPSGA, AVSIG, PETS, CONSULT, etc.). A list of forums can be found in the List of CompuServe Forums on page D-1. You can get a current list online using the FIND FORUMS command (although that command does not give you as complete a list; we try to keep a current list in the TAPCIS Forum in Library 1). TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-1 From the main TAPCIS menu, press to bring up the Forums Menu. Notice the list of function key commands on the right side of the screen. The first one, is Add. Press now. TAPCIS then asks for the name of the forum to add. You want to enter the GO page name. For the TAPCIS Forum that is TAPCIS as shown below: Forum name: [TAPCIS ] Next TAPCIS asks for the gateway. Most CompuServe forums such as the TAPCIS forum use CIS: as the gateway as shown below: Forum name: [CIS: ] Some services such as PC MagNet and PC Week must be accessed through a gateway before you can GO to the forums found there. To access the PC MagNet Editorial Forum, you would type PCM: over the CIS:. In the section box on the right in Figure 0, notice the error message that the section list cannot be found. That makes sense since you haven't yet joined the forum! Press for now to accept the CompuServe default sections. The active section list can be edited later as we'll see. Selecting Reading Mode Forums can be defined for one of three different types of online action: Q Quick scan subjects for thread selection offline (SCAn QUIck NEW) R Read all new threads (REAd NEW) M Read Marked, waiting messages to this user ID only (REAd WAIting) To get your selection TAPCIS prompts you with: Q/R/M: Q We'll use the Quick Scan method for this example. When you are first learning about the forums I recommend using the Q method. It is a little more complicated than just mass reading all the messages, but you may not be able to afford to read 1000+ messages per week (both financially and time wise). It is also the best example of how TAPCIS allows you to actively select the subjects you wish to follow. After pressing the forum will be added at the next available letter. It is not "activated" automatically (no <*> next to the letter). Clearing All Selected Forums To clear the asterisks from all the selected forums press . Activate The New Forum Press the letter corresponding to the forum(s) you have just added and now want to join online. In our example, the TAPCIS Forum is new and corresponds to forum B. After pressing the forum screen in Figure 0 shows our two forums with only the new TAPCIS Forum selected. Press to leave the forum select screen. The lower part of the main menu should then show only your newly added forum(s). Notice that while CompuServe Mail used to be #1, since it is not selected for the joining of the 6-2 Forums: Messages TAPCIS new forums, the first new forum selected is now #1. Forum numbers do change depending on which forums are active at one time. See Figure 0. Join The Forum Online This is the easy part! TAPCIS gets to do all the work, and you need only hold the key and press . The whole process takes around a minute at 2400bps for one new forum. TAP will connect to CompuServe and do the following: * Login with your user ID and password * GO to the new forum(s) * Join the forum if you are not already a member using your name from the Parameters screen * Get a list of message section and library names * Set your Options as follows: FORUM OPTIONS 1 INITIAL menu/prompt [Forum] 2 Forum MODE [COMMAND] MESSAGES OPTIONS 3 PAUSE after messages [Never] 4 NAME [First M. Last] 5 Prompt CHARACTER [^H] 6 EDITOR [EDIT*] 7 SECTIONS [...] 8 HIGH msg read [0] 9 REPLIES info [Count] 10 TYPE waiting msgs [NO] 11 SKIP msgs you left [NO] 12 Library Display [LONG] * Logoff from CompuServe If you are adding a PC MagNet or PC Week forum for the first time, you must logon nteractive first, type either GO PCMAGNET or GO PCWEEK, and answer the survey. Then logoff and use . ------------------------------------ Select All Forums To select all forums press orums then . Asterisks appear next to all defined forums. To leave the Forums menu press . If you are following the examples, this will activate both CompuServe Mail and the TAPCIS forum. They will appear as forums #1 and #2 on the main TAPCIS menu. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-3 ======================================================================== Quick Scan Forums ======================================================================== Quick Scan forums (referred to as "Q" forums) are those forums where you download only the subjects of the messages and the number of replies and then select the message threads you want to read based on those subjects. ------------------------------------ Q Forum Steps * Get new message headers (TAPCIS command ew from the main menu with at least one Q forum active and shown at the bottom of the screen). * Mark the headers to read (Use the ark command from the main menu on all forums showing a caret <^> next to their forum numbers on the main menu, and mark with an "R" those threads you want to read). * Go online and get marked messages (Use the nline command which will go to the forums where you have marked headers and will use the READ THREAD command to read those message threads you marked). * Read the messages and compose any replies (Press the number matching a forum with messages to read-shown with an exclamation point next to their forum number. Read the messages using the arrow keys, and use the eply command if you want to send a response of your own). * Send replies (if any) to the forum (Use the nline command again if any of your forums have the up/down arrow indicating a pending online action such as posting a reply, sending a new message, deleting a message, etc.) Get New Headers To get new message headers you tell TAPCIS to connect to CompuServe with the ew command. With CompuServe Mail and TAPCIS Forum selected, TAPCIS will call CompuServe and wait for the message indicating that: You have Electronic Mail waiting. If TAP sees this message it will go to CompuServe Mail to read the mail. If the message is not present, TAPCIS is smart enough to skip CompuServe Mail and go to the first forum. In this example session no Mail is present so the first forum visited is TAPCIS. TAPCIS downloads the headers by issuing the "MESS;SCAN QUICK NEW;M" command. The captured headers are stored in the file TAPCIS.QSN. When all the headers have been downloaded, TAPCIS logs off. You'll see the <^> indicator next to the TAPCIS forum telling you that there are headers to mark: Mark the Headers If a forum shows the <^> indicator it has headers ready to be marked. Press ark followed by the forum number and TAPCIS will process the .QSN file and present you with a sorted list of headers. An unprocessed list of headers looks like this: 6-4 Forums: Messages TAPCIS 55405: Sending messages S 1 / TAPCIS Q & A 6 replies 55409: Suggestion S 5 / Suggestion box 55410: TAPCIS add-ons S 2 / Scripts and Tools 10 replies TAPCIS sorts all the headers by section and compresses the format so it's easier to scan quickly. The first screen of the header list might look like Figure 0: These are just a few of the 155 headers scanned. The "TAPCIS" in the upper right shows that these are headers from the TAPCIS Forum. All these headers are in message section 1 which is the general TAPCIS section. The cursor is just to the left of the first header which has a subject of "Sending messages" and has 6 replies. To mark the headers, place an R next to your choices. TAPCIS has a limit of 350 headers that can be marked at one time in a Q forum. To get around this limitation when arking headers in a very busy forum, TAPCIS will break the headers into groups of 350. Pressing ext will move to the next group. A marker will tell you when you have reached the end of the headers. You can skip threads by pressing , , or . To unmark a selection use the arrow keys to get to the header and press . When you get your first set of headers they will not have the same subjects as these examples. Use the up and down arrow keys to locate subjects you might find interesting. Press to mark the headers for reading as shown in the next screen. When you're done press to return to the main menu. The information on your selections is stored in the .MRK file. Get Marked Threads Once you have marked the headers the indicator on the TAPCIS main menu will change from <^> to the double headed up/down arrow. Recall that this means that there is online action pending (as when we wrote a Mail message). To download the messages press nline from the TAPCIS main menu. TAP will call CompuServe, go to the forum, and issue a: READ THREAD NUM:nnnnnn command for each header you marked where nnnnnn is the message number that starts the thread (e.g., READ THREAD NUM:55405 would read message #55405 and the 6 replies in that thread). When all the threads have been read on autopilot by TAPCIS and stored in the .MSG file, the program issues the LOG command to logoff CompuServe. The forum status indicator should now show an exclamation mark indicating messages to read. Press the number <1-8> to read the pending messages in each forum. There is more information on the message reading commands in the Reading Messages section on page 6-13. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-5 ------------------------------------ Header Marking Tips Header marking is a bit of an art. It is often impossible to tell the exact content of a message thread based on its subject-especially if the subject is as generic as "Need help!". Such a message in the Scripts and Tools section probably indicates that the writer needs help with a script or add-on tool. A message in section 3 of the TAPCIS forum, it is likely a plea for modem or hardware help. Use the section numbers to guide you. Sometimes threads (messages with the same subject) will appear under more than one header. Threads do get "broken" for a variety of reasons, and some people do not know how to leave a message as a reply to another (they aren't using TAPCIS!). Be sure to catch all the headings for the subject you'd like to read. You can mark all the headers in a section by pressing . That command is shown in the small box in the upper right when you are marking headers. The ill command will delete this header file and not download any messages. The right and left arrows can be used to advance or backtrack to other forums with headers to mark. Remember! Marking headers is inexact at best since your only hints to the content of a thread are the subject and section. You will undoubtedly download a long message thread or two that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject or its section. The sysops try hard to keep the subject and sections on track, but that is an almost impossible task on an active, dynamic forum. If you happen to see a thread scrolling by and you know you are not interested in it, you can use the CompuServe command to skip the remainder of the thread. You'll have to accept this as part of the trade-off of using the Quick Scan method of reading messages. You can do your part by leaving messages in the right section and starting new threads when a conversation starts a new track. Naturally, TAPCIS makes that effortless using the se address command rather than eply when you want to digress from the listed subject. ------------------------------------ Understanding Forum Dynamics It helps to understand a little about the dynamics of a forum-especially if you choose to use the "Q" method of reading messages. An active forum is visited by many hundreds of people each day. While you are in the forum, any number of people from around the world can be reading, writing, replying, in conference, downloading, and uploading. (The CompuServe command UST given at the Forum! prompt will tell you which user ID's are in the forum at the same time you are). The downloading of message headers is a "snapshot" of the forum messages at the exact moment TAPCIS gives the QUICK SCAN NEW command. TAPCIS then logs off and you mark the headers for downloading. What is happening in the meantime? Other forum callers are probably leaving new messages and replies. Let's look at several scenarios that happen between the time you download the headers and get back online to download them: 6-6 Forums: Messages TAPCIS A reply is left in a thread you mark for reading: If you mark a thread for reading that has 3 replies and someone leaves a 4th reply, TAPCIS will get all 4 replies when it goes online. The next time you go online to get headers, this 4th reply will show up as the continuation of the thread with any additional replies listed after it. TAPCIS could eliminate these duplicates by leaving the high message number after reading the messages. But then any new messages in different threads, posted between your two sessions, might be missed. It is a tradeoff, and the decision was made that it is more important not to miss any headers than to pay to read a few duplicate messages every once and a while. A new thread is started with a new message: You won't get that message on this pass, but its header will be listed next time you go online to get new headers. The message you marked has scrolled: A forum has a set limit on the number of active messages (most with a maximum of 999). As new messages are written old messages disappear. The headers you mark are based on the first message in the thread. If that message scrolls between the time you mark it and the time you get back online to read it, you will miss all the messages in that thread. Unfortunately, TAPCIS can do nothing about this; it is a CompuServe design limitation. When reading the messages, look for the message "Can't find message nnnnnn". It tells you that the header you marked has scrolled (or possibly been deleted by the sender or recipient). My advice is to mark the headers and go back online immediately. If you wait a day or even a few hours, you are almost guaranteed to miss a few messages and get a few duplicates. Once you get the messages, you can read them hours or weeks later at your leisure. If you have a mix of Q-forums and R-forums, mark the headers and go back online to get those threads before reading the R- forums. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-7 ======================================================================== Read Thread Forums ======================================================================== Forums where you want to read all new messages in sections you select (or all sections) should be setup as "R" forums. The TAPCIS ew command downloads new messages in thread order in these forums. The three Q-forum steps of downloading headers, marking headers, and going back online to read selected headers are replaced by a single online read operation of all new threads in selected sections. ------------------------------------ R Forum Setup The setup of an R forum is exactly like the setup of a Q forum. Follow the steps in the Q Forum section for: * Add the forum * Select the sections (all sections if you do not yet know the ones you want) * Select the "R" reading mode * Clear all selected forums * Activate the new forum * Join the forum online with * Reactivate all forums you want for the next ew online session ------------------------------------ R Forum Steps * Get new message threads (ew from main menu) * Read messages (<1>-<8> to select the forum(s) with new messages to read-those marked with an exclamation point ) * Go back nline to send any pending replies, new messages, or other pending actions (in forums marked with a double headed up/down arrow) 6-8 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ------------------------------------ R Forum Tips If you find yourself marking the vast majority of all messages in a forum, change it to an R-forum. It will end up being less costly to download all messages and skip the uninteresting ones while reading than to go through the header downloading, marking, and message downloading sequence. Be aware that if you set up a forum as an R forum when you first join the forum, you may end up downloading up to 999 messages the first time you press ew. We recommend that you initially set up a forum as a Q forum, get a feel for the content in each section, and then either continue as a Q forum or change it to an R forum limited to certain sections. An R Forum will automatically download new threads in order by section. This means that TAPCIS downloads all the threads in section 1, followed by section 2, etc. If you prefer to read the threads from oldest to newest you can use the # command line option. Consider turning off sections of the forum that are clearly not of interest to you. In the WordPerfect Support Group (WPSGA) Forum there are 15 public sections as shown below. If you are interested only in IBM PC WordPerfect 5.1, you might be able to get away with reading only sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 and 13. You can add other sections as dictated by your interests. If you only have an interest in WordPerfect 5.0, section 14 would be the right choice. 1 WordPerfect 5.1 Gen 2 Printers/Fonts 3 Graphics/Tables/DTP 4 Macros/Merges 5 Training 6 Conversion 7 Village Inn 8 Networks 9 Hardware/DOS 10 WPCorp News/Info 12 Forum/CompuServe 13 Problem Reports 14 WordPerfect 5.0 15 WordPerfect 4.2 16 WPSGB All forums differ in their naming of message sections. If you have a question about which sections you should monitor for your interests, feel free to leave a message to *SYSOP in the individual forum. Give the sysop as much background as possible on your interests. The other option is to read all messages for a time period and then "turn off" sections that prove not to interest you. Keep your eye open as well for the "chit chat" section. Most forums have one, and it is called everything from Village Inn to Community Square to In My Opinion. In the TAPCIS Forum, they are called S7/The TapRoom and S8/Section 8 (for long, off-the-wall discussions). As in any conversation there are side tracks that go well off the initial topic. Many of these can be quite entertaining. You can choose whether to read them or not. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-9 ======================================================================== Marked Message Forums ======================================================================== The M Forum option is for when you want to check a forum for messages to you but don't want to read other messages in that forum. Usually this happens when you leave a message on the forum and want to check and see if anyone follows up. M forums are visited and the CompuServe READ WAITING command is issued to read marked, waiting messages when you go online with the ew command. Set up the M forum as you do an R forum. Just change the read option from R to M. In addition to using the forum options editing as described in the next section, you can choose to set up the same forum as a Q/R-forum and an M forum under different letters on the orums screen. When you activate the forums you want to visit, be sure to activate only one letter per forum name. We use M Forums most often in alternate parameter files. Let's say that we're actively participating in threads in WPSGA, WPSGB, and TAPCIS forums. I want to see if there have been any responses to my questions in WPSGA and WPSGB, and I want to read all new messages in TAPCIS (but don't have time to do that in the other two forums). Set up a PARAMS.TWP file using with TAPCIS as an R forum and WPSGA and WPSGB as M Forums. Using ew will get any waiting messages in the WordPerfect forums and all new messages in TAPCIS. You can set up different PARAMS files for this type of set up rather than editing the forum options each time. 6-10 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ======================================================================== Changing Forum Options/Sections ======================================================================== TAPCIS allows you to change your forum read mode and selected sections. This is done through the orums screen. Press and the program prompts: Forum: B You should enter the letter of the forum from the box on the left-not the forum number from the main screen. TAPCIS will ask whether you want to change the method (Q/R/M) or the section selection. If you choose S>ecs, TAPCIS shows you the section list for the whole forum and what you have already selected if you are editing a forum that has already been set up online using . If you do not want to change your choice just press . ------------------------------------ Selecting the Sections The key thing to remember here is to put spaces between the section numbers as shown in the figure. Press to use the section list stored by CompuServe. Type the word ALL to override any CompuServe setting for active sections (e.g., if your forum options-OPTIONS;SECTIONS-are set for sections 1 2 3, entering ALL would activate all public sections when using TAPCIS). ------------------------------------ Getting Updated Section Lists If a forum updates its section list, or you are given access to a private section (such as section and library 9 in the TAPCIS forum after you register and leave a message to *SYSOP in the TAPCIS forum with your permanent registration number), you will need to get an updated list of sections and libraries. Use the command from the main menu with the forum(s) active to go online and get a new list. ------------------------------------ Combining Q and R Selections The as a section selection is used for the special case where you want to read messages or get headers without updating your high message number (HMN). Why would you want this? The most common use is when you want to read all the messages in certain sections but do a Quick Scan in the other sections. You'd first set your Append/overwrite flag to Append in the

arameters screen. Then, set up the same forum twice, as in: B TAPCIS Q X C TAPCIS R 1 With both these forums active, and the one with the first, go online with ew. Read the messages downloaded in the first forum, then deselect the "X" forum on the forums screen. Mark the headers, go online with and then read the messages. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-11 Another way to accomplish the same thing is to set up the forum as a normal "Q" forum. Then, simply mark all the messages in the section you want to read using the ection command in header arking. Another option is to set up the forum twice as above, but with only one active at a time. You could read all the messages in a particular section but not update your high message number, as in B below. Then, you can read the rest of the messages later (forum C) or scan the headers and then read them (if forum C were a Q forum). You could also set up forum C to read all sections but #1 (you should read B first, then C, or leave Append on). B TAPCIS R 1 X C TAPCIS R 6-12 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ======================================================================== Reading Messages ======================================================================== TAPCIS indicates pending messages to read with the exclamation mark indicator next to a forum number. If you press the number for a forum with messages, TAPCIS starts to process the .MSG file. During the processing, two running counters are shown at the top of the screen: Messages: 12 Sessions: 1 TAPCIS The messages increment as TAPCIS finds a new message which starts with "#:" in column 1. The session counter tells you how many different online sessions are recorded in this .MSG file. If you specified Append in the

arameters screen, new messages are added to the old .MSG file until you explicitly kill the MSG file using the ill command. If you are using the overwrite parameter, you can still get multiple sessions if unread messages to you are found during a Quick Scan of headers. The download of the messages to you will be appended to those marked messages as session 2. Be patient if you have many messages or are using floppies. TAPCIS must read to the end of the message file to know the number of messages and to make moving from message to message while reading as fast as possible. Message #0 is a special message created by TAPCIS. It contains the welcome information for the forum and any news flash announcement posted by the forum administrators (sysops). In the example shown above, the date and time of this online session is given (all times are in the local time for the node being called. A message written at 3pm by someone in California will show as 6pm (18:00) when read by someone in the Eastern time zone). TAPCIS creates a message number and puts in the fake header to make this look like a normal message to external message processing programs. Following the header is the forum name and software version number. The name after Hello is your name as recorded in the forum membership roles. You can change it with OPTION;NAME in Interactive mode or see Advanced Commands page 6-26. Next is the date of your last visit. The forum message range and the last message you've read are listed. If the last message read is less than the first message in the forum, you have missed messages that have scrolled. Mr. Last here has missed 55597 messages and has yet to read his first message. You should note these numbers if you have not been on the forum for a while to see whether messages have scrolled since your last visit. If there has been a scroll, and in the future you do not want to miss any more messages, you will have to logon more regularly. While most sysops work to keep the scroll over one week, some very active forums have scrolled in less than a day! The TAPCIS Forum typically scrolls in 3-6 days. The sections accessible are the CompuServe sections selected in the forum using the OPTIONS;SECTIONS. All public sections are accessible in this example. (Most forums have at least one private section that the sysops use to TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-13 communicate privately about administrative matters. Other forums may also have private sections for other purposes). No members were in conference (CO) when TAPCIS downloaded these messages. The highlighted status line at the bottom of the screen shows the forum name, the current message number (1) and the total number of messages (66). Pressing while reading messages gives you a complete list of commands: 6-14 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ------------------------------------ Message Navigation By Message Next , , , Previous , ack, Jump to # ump First <1>, Last <9>, By Thread Next Top of thread By Session First <1> Next <2> Final <3> By Search Words Start search Next occurrence ------------------------------------ Message Replying & Handling Reply to This Message eply TAPCIS automatically enters the message editor. The response will be sent to the sender of the message you are reading. It is stored as part of the thread by CompuServe in the same message section as the original. If the message has scrolled or been deleted before your reply is sent, TAPCIS stores the reply as a new message to the same user and section. Reply with a New Subject/Section se Address If you wish to respond to a message, but your response is leading off in a direction that could be better described by a different subject, please use the command to change the subject and possibly the section where the new thread is stored. This helps to keep the message headers descriptive and the threads on track. o Address This starts a new thread with a message addressed to the To: field of the message you are reading. You are given the option of pressing to keep the same subject or entering a new subject. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-15 Change Reply to a Different Forum hange Some forums such as MAUG, BORLAND, and PCMAGNET are actually a collection of forums. This command is used to redirect a reply from one forum to a more appropriate forum for the continuation of the discussion. Delete This Message From the Forum ,,<-> This command works only on messages to or from your User ID. It should be used sparingly and almost never on a public message. The general guidelines are: you should not delete messages from the forum that provide information or debate. You should delete messages that are just thank you's once they have been read (shown by a (X) after the recipient's name). Private messages (indicated by a (P) in the first line of the header) should be deleted by the recipient once read. The message "Deleted" appears in a small box in the upper right of the message after you press . If you go on to read other messages and later re-read the message you marked for online deletion, the "deleted" message will be gone. This command does not affect your .MSG file! If you mark a message for deletion in error, you can correct your mistake provided you do so before you go online. Use the dit command from the main menu, press the number <1- 8> of the forum where you deleted the message. Press to select the .SND file. The TAPCIS editor will appear with the delete command and any other messages still to send online. Search for the line that says "DEL nnnnn" where "nnnnn" is the message you accidentally deleted. Delete that line then exit using <1>. Save this message ,,<+> The quickest way to save a message to disk is to press ave. The message will be appended to the .SAV file. Later if you need to refer back to one of these saved messages, you can use the iew command from the main TAPCIS menu.To save the message in a specific file use the key. TAPCIS prompts you for the filename: for C:\TAP\TAPCIS.SAV or File name for this message: C:\TAP\MYMSG.TXT Notice that if you press that you can still press to save the message in the .SAV file. In the above prompt the filename C:\TAP\MYMSG.TXT was entered. This file now contains a copy of the current message-complete with header-in ASCII format. It can be retrieved into another message using the function from within the TAPCIS editor. 6-16 Forums: Messages TAPCIS Print this message , <*> You can print a message you are reading to the default printer by pressing . Alternatively, press the asterisk <*> to print without a formfeed after the message. Make sure your printer is powered, online, and filled with paper before trying to print a message. ------------------------------------ Shell to DOS You can shell to DOS temporarily (if you have enough free memory) using the key at any time you are running in TAPCIS including while reading and replying. You will need to type "exit" from DOS to return to TAPCIS. ------------------------------------ Shell to Program You can shell from TAPCIS to a program by pressing then typing the DOS command at the d:\path\file to execute: prompt. You need to have enough free memory to execute the program or you will get an insufficient memory error. ------------------------------------ Exit Back to Main Menu Once you are finished reading messages, press the key to go back to the main menu. will also return you to the main menu or abort message replies. These keys are used consistently throughout TAPCIS to return back to the "previous" menu. ------------------------------------ Build an Address Book Adding user names and IDs to your address book was introduced in the CompuServe Mail section on the Address Book. You should review that section for the exact procedure for adding new entries. The ddress command should be used while reading messages to add people to your list. Once a name has been added, you can search the book for that name when writing new messages. Sending using the address book was also discussed in the CompuServe Mail section. Unless you create an address list during your reading of messages, you won't have any names to look up. You should add the names and user IDs of the sysops in the forums you visit and other people you expect to hold conversations with. ------------------------------------ Write a Message While reading messages from others, you may want to write a message to a person other than the sender or recipient of the current message. Press rite then address the message and send it as discussed in the next section. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-17 ------------------------------------ Forward a Message You can forward a message you are reading to any other valid address (even FAX) by pressing while reading the message. Address the message, and when the TAPCIS editor appears, a copy of the message will be there for your comments. Note that if you leave the "#:" characters that are part of the header of the forwarded message, it will be treated as a separate message by your recipient's TAPCIS. For example, if the header of the message is: #: 55848 S1/TAPCIS Q & A 15-Dec-88 09:59:29 Sb: #55817-#Call Waiting Fm: Sysop Joan Friedman 76701,145 To: Sysop Marilyn Ratcheson 76702,260 (X) and you forward this to someone un-edited, the recipient (if using TAPCIS) will think that the message is a new message. And, the recipient can reply to the forwarded message. Therefore, if you want the recipient to reply to the forwarded message (not back to you), leave the header alone. If you want the recipient to reply only to you, remove at least the "#:" in the text of the forwarded message. You must have Mail active for forwarding to work. The forwarded message will be sent directly from CompuServe Mail the next time you go online. 6-18 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ======================================================================== Writing Forum Messages ======================================================================== The basics of writing and editing a message were given in the CompuServe Mail section under Write a Mail Message beginning on page 5-1. Also refer to Command Reference on page 3-6. You should review both these sections now if you have not done so already. In this section we examine the writing of a forum message and some of the more advanced commands available in the editor. ------------------------------------ Writing a Forum Message The rite command is a main menu option. TAPCIS prompts "Forum:" at the bottom of the screen. Enter the number of the forum to start the message. will abort the command. To write a message in a forum not shown on the status line, activate the forum by pressing then the letter of the forum (to put an asterisk <*> next to the name). If you have not defined the forum yet, follow the procedure for adding a forum as described previously. Entering the To: Address At the To: prompt you have several choices: * Type ALL to send a forum message to All members; * Type the name and user ID of your intended recipient from memory; * Have TAPCIS look up a name in your address book by preceding a search string with back slash <\>; * Type *SYSOP to send a confidential message to the forum administrator (i.e., "sysop"). This message will be private, although it must be posted as a "public" message in a public section. * Type SYSOP without the asterisk to send the message to the next forum administrator who comes online. The message will be visible to all. Unlike CompuServe Mail, forum messages cannot be sent to multiple user IDs. Also, forum messages are usually public-even if you send the message to a particular user ID. Some forums offer private messages within the forum. It is strongly recommended that you use Mail for such messages; there is less of a chance that you will accidentally save a message publicly intended for private consumption if you write directly in CompuServe Mail. No return receipt is offered in forum messages. Once a message is read by the recipient an (X) is added after the user ID in the To: field. Neither TAPCIS nor the CompuServe forum software checks the user ID you enter to see if it matches the name you enter. Be careful of typos. You can send a message to a name alone without a user ID. Doing so means that the message will not be marked for that person when he or she enters the forum, the person may miss the message entirely, and you'll not be able to tell that the message TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-19 has been read. CompuServe only cares about the user ID. The name itself is ignored. Entering the Message Subject Forum message subjects are important. The subject is used to name the thread. Those people using the Q-forum method of reading appreciate subjects like "Stock Portfolio Analysis" rather than a generic "Script help needed." Make it as descriptive as possible within the limit of 24 characters. When you enter the subject TAPCIS accepts more than the 24 character limit, but indicates with a "|" vertical bar the point where you've typed too long a subject. Once the editor screen appears you'll also see whether your subject was truncated. You can abort the message at this point using . Message Section After entering the To: and Subject:, TAPCIS offers you a list of forum sections. Look closely at the list and choose the one most appropriate for your message. ------------------------------------ Editing the Message The TAPCIS editor is very natural. It uses standard cursor positioning and has word wrap. Since CompuServe does not offer attributes like underline and bold, TAP doesn't either. You should use mixed case and save capitalized words for EMPHASIS. A quick reminder of editing keys is available by pressing in the editor. They are also described in the Command Reference section beginning on page 3-6. WordPerfect users and users of most other word processors are accustomed to auto reformatting during text insert and delete. TAPCIS does not offer this, and you must manually press or the old WordStar in each paragraph you want to reformat. ------------------------------------ Send the Message You can finish entering and editing the message with the following keys: If you've decided not to send the message, press this function key then enter to confirm the discard. Once you do this the message cannot be recovered. This is the normal way to send a message. The menu shown in the sample screen above appears at the bottom of the screen. You can also get this menu with two other keys: Press to send and also save a copy of the message to the .SAV file. If you have your parameters set for Keep Outbox File Always using is unnecessary. 6-20 Forums: Messages TAPCIS Use the key to send the message and also print a copy of the message to the current printer port (PRN). Send Options The send options are slightly different for forum messages than for CompuServe Mail. Send: 1 Public; 2 PRI; 3 UNF; 4 Email; 5 PRI UNF; 0 Resume; X Discard 1 The default option is <1>, so if you want to send the message publicly, just press or the <1> itself. To send the message privately, press <2>. TAPCIS sends this message with the POST PRIVATE command. If the forum software responds that private messages are not enabled on the forum (they are not on the TAPCIS forum), the message sent privately via Mail. Option 3 is for "unformatted" messages. This is used rarely and only when you don't want CompuServe to reformat the message when it is read by others. This option is used when you send tabular data. You can avoid having to use this option by putting periods in front of lines that you do not want reformatted: .Things I'd like to see in TAPCIS: .1) More forums on the forums screen .2) Enhanced offline message management . Then if you have other paragraphs you can still use option 1 which is preferred over saving the message unformatted. Option 4 is Email (electronic mail) delivery through CompuServe Mail. You can send Mail messages right from the forum using this option. The size limit for such messages is the forum size limit, not the 50,000 (256K after 3/15/89) character limit of Mail. Use Option 5 Private Unformatted to send a private message in forums that support private messages without having CompuServe reformat the line breaks. Press the zero <0> if you want to resume editing the message before sending. Any saving or printing of the message you had ordered will be canceled. Send the message with or after the resume if you want those options. The option is like . Press and the message will be thrown away. Transmit the Message Messages written in the TAPCIS editor are stored on disk in the .SND file until you send them to the forum with the nline command. The main menu will tell you if you have messages to send by putting a double-headed up and down arrow next to the forums with online activity pending. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-21 ------------------------------------ Editing the .SND File Up until you send the message online, you can make changes to the message by editing the .SND file. The main menu dit option is used to do this. Enter the forum number if prompted and for the .SND file. This file is a different format from the message editor. Use caution so that CompuServe commands are kept intact and at the beginning of lines. In the screen above we took the message and added another question to it. To finish the key is pressed followed by a <1>. Any changes made are not recorded in the .SAV file, and there is no practical way to do this. The "L;All;Stock Portfolio Analysis" is the internal TAPCIS "Leave" command followed by the To: field for this message (All) and the subject (Stock Portfolio Analysis). You can edit these as long as you keep the right format and do not exceed the maximum lengths for these fields (24 is safe). The message text follows. Edit the message as you please, but do not exceed the CompuServe maximum message size. The "/ex" is added by TAPCIS (in CompuServe Mail, if the /EX is capitalized, the message is sent return receipt requested). It ends the message upload into the editor. The "S2" saves the message in forum section 2. Change the section number if you want, but make sure the section number you enter is available to you. Both the /ex and Sn must be on lines by themselves. Be careful when you edit or reformat messages that they stay as shown. If other messages were pending, they would all be in this file. If you make a mistake, the best bet is to press to discard these changes. You can then go back and edit the .SND file again. ------------------------------------ Maximum Message Length CompuServe forums have a maximum message length of approximately 2200 characters. This works out to roughly 30 lines or 350 words. At line 24 of your message, TAPCIS will put this warning on the bottom status line: Approaching message size limit of 2200 characters, or an average 30 lines When you hit line 30 in your message, the warning changes to: EXCEEDING message size limit of 2200 characters, or an average 30 lines These limits are approximate, and if you follow TAPCIS' warnings, you'll never have a message truncated. Some people can squeeze slightly more than 2300 characters into a message without getting cut short. ------------------------------------ Splitting Long Messages Avoid sending messages that get truncated by keeping your messages within the 30 line limit. On the rare occasions where you need to write a message longer than 30 lines, use the "/split" command. This works in a slightly peculiar way. When you get down to the end of one message, press , then type the word: /split on a line by itself in lowercase. Then store the message. 6-22 Forums: Messages TAPCIS Immediately write another message (or reply to the same message again). It does not matter how you address this second message. The message you write immediately after a /split is sent as a reply to your first message (in effect the second message will be sent to you as a reply). Why should you do this? It keeps the threads together. If you write two separate new messages-even if they have the same subject-two new threads are created. A multi-part reply sent with /split's are read in their entirety before any replies. Otherwise, replies to part one would be read before your part two. That is confusing, and TAPCIS gets around this "limitation" in the forum software with split. The "/split" automatically adds "[More]" to the end of the message and "[Continued]" to the beginning of the next. You need not add these yourself. Also, you should put the "/split" at the end of the message so that the "[More]" is placed in the right spot. ------------------------------------ Retrieving Text into a Message An ASCII file can be retrieved into a TAPCIS message using the function. The program prompts you for the file to retrieve into the message currently being edited: File name [d:][\path\]filename.ext: C:\FILES\WELCOME.MSG The drive and directory path are shown in brackets since they are optional if the file to retrieve is in the current subdirectory. Otherwise, enter the whole name as is shown above. If you create messages using WordPerfect or any other external editor or program that creates a "formatted" file, you must convert that file to a plain ASCII format before retrieving it into TAPCIS. In WordPerfect this is done using the key and the option to save in DOS Text format (not generic WP format). ------------------------------------ Search Another File/Import You may want to refer to another file while composing a message and possibly import a select part of that file into the current message. The function allows you to do this. Press and TAPCIS prompts: F1 or string to search: If you want to look at an entire file (assuming each line has at least one space in it), press at this prompt. Otherwise enter a string of characters to search for in the file. This string is case insensitive. Next TAPCIS prompts you to press to cancel the search, to search the message file for this forum, to search the save file for this forum, to search the USERID.CIS file, or to enter a specific filename. The prompt appears in the top window: F1> cancel M> .MSG file V> .SAV file U> USERID or enter file to search TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-23 If the string you entered is found in the file, the first "hit" will appear highlighted in context. On the right side will be letters in brackets labeling each line. The status line will show something like this: F1> Quit; Import: A>-T> lines Z> all; X> New; PgDn scroll; PgUp top; If you want to import one of the lines shown into the current message, press the letter corresponding to the line. returns you to the message. Pressing will continue the search to find the next occurrence (if any). Use to import all the lines. starts a new search. You can use to go back to the top of the searched file, and to scroll down in the searched file. 6-24 Forums: Messages TAPCIS ======================================================================== TAPCIS Forum Registration ======================================================================== ****> Be sure to follow these instructions to register in the TAPCIS Forum and gain access to closed section and library 9. Our customers receive access to pre-release software and are active in shaping the future developments of the program. By registering online in the TAPCIS Forum, it also gives us a record of your user ID so that we can notify you of future releases. * Press rite to send a message to the TAPCIS Forum (TAPCIS must be listed as a forum at the bottom of the screen; press its number when asked). * Address the message to "*SYSOP" (the asterisk is vital). * Use "TAPCIS Registration" as the subject. * Select section 1 for the message. * In the message include the name and address information of the purchaser of the software, phone number, your account number from Support Group Inc. (if known from your receipt or invoice), and the TAPCIS registration number. If your number includes the letter "T" it is a temporary number. Once you get your permanent number from the Support Group, send a similar message with that number. * Send the message "public." By addressing it to "*SYSOP" you insure that only the sysops of the forum can read the message with your number. Please do not send this message via CompuServe Mail. It must be in the forum. * Allow a day or two for your access to section and library 9 to be enabled. Then, use again to get an updated list of sections and libraries. To leave room on the forum for more public messages, unless there is a problem, your request will not be acknowledged. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-25 ======================================================================== Advanced Commands ======================================================================== The advanced commands display in the top box when you press dvanced from the main menu. They are used for specialized purposes that become more obvious as you use CompuServe forums actively. ------------------------------------ Advanced Commands Summary The advanced commands create entries in the .ADV file which will be acted upon the next time you go online with the command. The results of these commands are stored in the .MSG file and can usually be read by reading messages as you normally do. Go online and read only new messages sent to you in one particular forum only. This is like the command when the normal menu is shown, where TAPCIS goes online immediately and reads new messages marked for you in all selected forums. Read new messages in a Forum addressed to ALL. Read ALL messages in a Forum (old and new) addressed To you. Read ALL messages on this Forum (old and new) sent By you Go online and delete all (P)rivate message from or to you if they have already been read. You should delete private messages to you as you read your private messages in forums where private messages are al- lowed. If you forget to delete private messages you've read, this advanced command will get rid of them for you. Do not delete public messages of interest to others. This command will not affect public messages. Enter a "User" selected command. This creates an online script. The command becomes part of your .SND file and must be one that CompuServe recognizes as well as one that will cause the forum software to end its output with a Forum! prompt. Valid commands include: HIGH;12345 Reset high message number to 12345 HIGH;L Reset high message number to the last message in the forum HIGH;D Reset the high message to its value when you entered the forum. This is useful for resetting the high message after a search or another advanced command that might reset the high message count. REA FRO:JOAN STA:0 Read all messages from Joan starting with the first message that is still in the forum. 6-26 Forums: Messages TAPCIS REA TO:MARILYN STA:50000 Read all messages to Marilyn starting at 50000 REA NEW SUB:TAPCIS Read only new message that have "TAPCIS" in the subject REA THR NUM:12345 Read the thread that begins on message 12345 REA THR DAYS:2 Read all threads from the last two days OPT;NAM;First Last;P Change your name in a forum OPT;SKI N;P Turn off the OPTION Skip Messages You Write These functions may be chained as may times as you like in as many Forums as you like. Please do not use the dvanced ser function for navigation between Forums or if you are not certain of the appropriate command. Advanced commands are the first commands sent when TAPCIS enters a forum. Thus, if you want to set your high message number back and do a scan or read, you can do it in one pass. TAPCIS Forums: Messages 6-27