/// /// /// /// /// /// "TALK" Conferencing System \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ Bob Lafleur 45 Ionia Street Springfield, MA 01109-2519 Phone: (413) 737-8503 CompuServe: 75146,3122 GEnie: SKID Dataseek: SKID Bitnet: Skid@UMass.Bitnet Packet Radio: NQ1C @ W1NY Intorduction documentation for version 1.7 13-Oct-88 /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ TALK is an interactive conferencing system for VMS that allows different users of the system to communicate with each other. TALK uses a "conference" metaphor rather than the standard "channel" metaphor popular among chat systems and "CB" simulators. TALK has an extensive command set which is described in the online help in the TALK system. This document will not attempt to describe the commands available within the TALK system, although a quick reference of the commands follows to give you an idea of the commands available: /ACTIVITY Show an activity summary of TALK, /ALERT[,system name] Alert when user enters TALK, /ALLOW,user name Allow a user to speak, /BYE[,comment] Exit TALK, /CLEAR,flag name Clear a flag, /CLS Clear terminal screen, /COMMANDS Lists TALK commands., /CONTROL Take control of the conference, /CREATE,conf name[,password] Create a conference, /DCL[,command] Access DCL from TALK, /DESCRIBE[,conf name] Print a conference description, /DISABLEQ Disables the speaker request queue., /DISALLOW,user name Disallow a user to speak, /DONE[,comment] Exit TALK, /ENABLEQ Enables the speaker request queue., /ESSAY Enter a multi-line message, /EVICT,user name Evict a user from a conference, /EXIT[,comment] Exit TALK, /FACE[,style] Change face style, /GRIPE Submit a gripe about TALK., /HOLD Puts the current essay on hold., /JOIN,conf name[,password] Join a conference, /KILL Erase current essay, /LIMITS Displays Talk's current limits., /LIST List current essay, /LOCK,password Lock a conference, /LOG[,number] Display userlog, /MAIL[,vax user[,subject]] Access the VAXmail system, /MAKE,conf name[,password] Create a conference, /MODERATE Make the current conference moderated, /MONITOR[,conf name[,password]] Monitor a conference, /NAME,new name Change nickname, /NEXT Let the next person in the queue speak, /NEWS Shows Talk news, /NODES Shows a list of nodes linked to Talk., /NOMONITOR Stop users from monitoring conference., /QUEUE Display the speaker request queue, /QUIT[,comment] Exit TALK, /RELINQUISH Relinquish control of your conference, /RENAME Give the conference a new name, /REPLY Reply to the last private message, /RESEND[,user name] Resend last multi-line message, /SEND[,user name] Send a multi-line message, /SET,flag name Set a flag, /SHOW[,flag name] Show flag settings, /SILENCE,user name Disallow a user to speak, /SPEAK Enter a request into the speaker queue, /SQUELCH[,user name] Squelch (ignore) a user, /STATUS Show status about yourself., /SUMMARY Show a summary of Talk users, /TO[,user name] Direct a message to a user, /TRANSCRIBE[,file name] Transcribe conference to file, /UNHOLD Take essay off hold, /UNLOCK Unlock a conference, /UNMODERATE Unmoderates the conference, /UNSQUELCH,user name Unsquelch a user, /USERS[,conf name] Show users on TALK, /WHISPER,user name Send a message to a specific user, /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ INSTALLATION To install TALK on your system, you should have VMS system priveleges, including the ability (and authority!) to edit the system startup file. If you do not have proper priveleges, you should have your system manager do the installation. TALK uses a logical, TALK$FILES, to point to a directory where it looks for many of it's files. You should create a directory for this purpose. I recomend SYS$SYSROOT:[TALK_FILES], although you can place it anywhere you like. Copy, from the [.EXECUTABLES] directory of the distribution, all the .EXE files into the [TALK_FILES] directory. The files are as follows: TALK.EXE This is the program a user would run to enter the TALK system. TALKMON.EXE This is the "Talk Server". It runs as a detached process on the system, and serves all the users of the TALK system. TALKINFORM.EXE This program can be used to send the contents of a file to all users on TALK. It should be made available to system managers only. There are some other files you may wish to place in the TALK$FILES directory. They are as follows: TALK_NOTICE.TXT This file will get printed when a user enters TALK. You can use it for any system messages, notices, etc. If this file does not exist, TALK will not print any notice. TALK_NEWS.TXT This file will get printed when a user issues the /NEWS command. If this file does not exist, the user will be told that no news is available. TALK_SERVER.INI This file is read in by the Talk Server when it is started, and contains parameters the server will use for user limits. There is a sample TALK_SERVER.INI file in the [.MISC] directory that also contains documentation about the format of the server initialization parameters. If this file does not exist, the server will not impose any limits on the users. There are also some files that are created in the TALK$FILES directory by the TALK system. These files are: TALK.LOG This file contains a "log" of all the TALK accesses, server starts, etc. You may want to set up a batch file to delete this file once a day, or whatever is appropiate based on the usage load of your system. TALK_*.BUFFER "Buffer" files may be created on occasion by the TALK system. These files are useally auto- matically deleted. On occasion, they may be left around. If the PID in the buffer's file name is not on TALK, it is definately safe to delete the file. Once you have created the TALK$FILES directory and moved the appropiate files to it, you should copy the file START_TALK.COM from the [.EXECUTABLE] directory to sys$manager, and modify your system startup file to invoke it during system startup. This will assign the proper logicals, install the priveleged images, and start the server. You should edit START_TALK.COM (now in sys$manager, hopefully!) to modify the values assigned to the logicals defined. These logicals are: TALK$FILES Points to the subdirectory you have installed this whole mess in. TALK$GRIPE_TAKER A username, or multiple usernames seperated by commas, that will receive "gripes" issued by the /GRIPE command. This logical actually gets used as the "TO" field in VMSmail. You should also create a foreign command that gets defined when users log in. An example would be: $ TALK:==$TALK$FILES:TALK.EXE The TALK.EXE file should have proper protection so that any user who uses the symbol to execute TALK, has access to the image. You can invoke START_TALK by hand to get things running, or you can reboot your system to make sure that it all works fine on startup. /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ If you get TALK up and running, and establish a regular user base that use the system, I'd love to hear from you. I like to log onto TALK and chat with the various users to see what enhancements they would like to see, etc. TALK has been running on Houston Citinet ((713) 975-5100, data) since July, 1988, and many enhancements and improvements were made as suggestions from their user base. TALK has also been running on a system in Tokyo, Japan since October, 1988. I am currently working on a "linking" scheme that will allow TALK running on multiple systems to link together and act as one system. At first this will only work with VAXes that are linked via DECnet, but I plan to also allow links via a standard asynchronous link (such as via a PC Pursuit link). If you would be interested in becoming a part of a linked "Talk Network", please let me know. This coding is still in the beginning stage, but once it is working, I will be looking for sites to use and test it. Also, the more sites that are interested in linking, the more apt I am to get the links running as soon as possible! /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ The source code for TALK has been supplied for reference, example, or site-specific modifications. However, keep in mind that I continually update, modify, and add to TALK. If you make any major code changes, you may not be able to easily re-implement your changes on a future version. The code has a #define called DATASEEK which turns on and off features specific to "DATASEEK". The supplied executables have been distributed with the DATASEEK features, as I have found these to be more desirable than the non-dataseek version. A future version of the code will have a #define mechanism to turn on and off specific features, rather than the whole group as they are now. /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// /// \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ I am always open to comments, criticizms, ideas, bug reports, bug fixes(!), or whatever regarding TALK. It has been user input that has made this system what it is, and it is user input that will make it continue to get better! Please don't hesitate to contact me!