VNET Compliant AreaFix Programs - Technical Standards
        =====================================================


Introduction
============

The following document describes all aspects required to develop an AreaFix
program compatible with VNET. It must be assumed that you have access to the
VBBS Source Code or the VBBS Developer's Toolkit and are familiar with the
VBBS Record Structures and with VBBS Programming in general.

Area Numbering
==============

Areas are grouped into 3 categories.
------------------------------------
1-4 digit numbers are "Auto Request" Type Areas.
5 digit numbers are "Secured" Type Areas.
6 digit numbers are "Auto-Subscription" type Areas
No Area number shall be greater than six (6) digits in length.

Detection Of Area List Co-ordinator
===================================

The Area List Co-ordinator is indicated by an SC in the "official status"
field in the BBSLIST files, Columns 73 and 74.


Naming Of Area List Files
=========================

Area List files are split into two types, the Network-Wide files and the
Regional Files.

Each Region in a VNET-type Network has a single Regional Area List, called
AREALIST.R## where ## is the Region Number, eg AREALIST.R01 for Region 1.

The Network-Wide Area List is split across multiple files each file must
remain under the 32Kb limit for transmission by VNET. Each file is called
AREALIST.I## where ## is a sequential number starting from 0, so the first
Area List is AREALIST.I00, the next AREALIST.I01 and so on.


Format Of Area List Files
=========================

Each Area List file contains a list of Message or File Areas, grouped into
Topics. The start of a new Topic is defined by the following two lines of
text (they are split up here for ease of reading as they exceed 80 columns):

Character 01-64:

   Area #      Host Nodes Flow {Topic Name}
   ------      ---- ----- ---- ------------

Character 65-111:

Tagline  Name  Validate Age  Updated   Created
-------  ----  -------- ---  -------   -------

The Topic Name is restricted to 22 characters maximum.

Each Message or File Area line is formatted as follows (once again split up
for ease of reading as they exceed 80 columns):

Character 01-64:

   Area #      Host Nodes Flow {Topic Name}
   ------      ---- ----- ---- ------------
   ###### ######### ##### #### {Area Name}

Character 65-111:

Tagline  Name  Validate Age  Updated   Created
-------  ----  -------- ---  -------   -------
   No    Real     Yes   ### DD-MMM-YY DD-MMM-YY
  Yes   Handle    No
         Anon

All numeric (#) fields are right justified without leading Zeros.

In the date fields, the Day (DD) field is formatted with leading Zeros eg 01.
The Month field (MMM) is the first three letters of the Month with the first
letter capitalized eg Jan Feb Mar. The Year field (YY) is the last two digits
of the year. Note that the Date field is presented in this format because the
American all-numeric MM-DD-YYYY format is not an International Standard, and
is misleading to continents using the DD-MM-YYYY format (eg Europe).

The Area Name field is Left Justified and has a maximum length of 32.

The options and formatting for the Tagline, Name and Validate Status are as
shown above.


Format Of Messages Between AreaFix Programs
===========================================

There are 8 different types of messages that an AreaFix program may be
required to create or process:

Add         Add a BBS to the subscription list of an Area
Delete      Delete a BBS from the subscription list of an Area
Enquiry     Enquiry from a BBS about an Area
Move        Move an Area from the Network-Wide to the Regional Area List
            and vice-versa
Change      Change an Area from one Topic in the Area List to another
Create      Create a new Area in the Area List
Remove      Remove an Area from the Area List
Activity    Report the Nodes and Flow for Hosted Areas to the Area List
            Co-ordinator

Much of the format of these messages is consistent. The full format is
described below.


From Fields
-----------

The D1.From field is 1.

The D1.FromS field is {Network Name} AreaFix, eg VirtualNET AreaFix.

The D1.FromN field is the sender's Node Number, eg 1614017.

The D1.FromNet field is the Network Id, eg 1 meaning VirtualNET.


To Fields
---------

The D1.mTo field is 1.

The D1.ToS field is SysOp.

The D1.ToN field is the addressee's Node Number, which will always be either
the Host of the Area or the Area List Co-ordinator.

The D1.ToNet field is the same as the D1.FromNet field.

The Add, Delete and Enquiry reports are sent to the Host of the Area as shown
in the Area List.

The Move, Change, Create, Remove and Activity reports are sent to the Area
List Co-ordinator as shown in the BBSLIST.


Subject Field
-------------

The D1.Subject field format varies depending on the type of message, as
follows:

Add         Add Node @{Node #} to Area {Area #}
Delete      Delete Node @{Node #} from Area {Area #}
Enquiry     Enquiry from Node @{Node #} about Area {Area #}
Move        Move {Area #} to {Regional}/{Network-Wide}
Change      Change {Area #} to Topic {Topic Name}
Create      Character 01-58 Create {Secured}/{AutoSubscription} {Area Name}
            Character 59    {Y}/{N}     Tagline Status
            Character 60    {A}/{H}/{R} Name Status
            Character 61    {Y}/{N}     Network Validation Status
            Character 62-64 ###         Minimum Age with Leading Zeros
Remove      Remove {Area #}
Activity    Activity


Body Text
---------

The Body Text of the Add, Delete, Enquiry, Move and Remove messages is the
same:

{Area Name}         from the Area List
{SysOp Name}        from the MC1.SysOp field
{BBS Name}          from the MC1.BBSName field

The Body Text of the Create message is:

{Topic Name}        from the Area List or the Host's input if a new Topic
{SysOp Name}        from the MC1.SysOp field
{BBS Name}          from the MC1.BBSName field
{Area List Name}    format {Network Name} {Network-Wide}/{Region #} Area List

The Body Text of the Activity message in exact columns is:

   Area #�Nodes�Flow�Name
   ######�#####�####�{Area Name}                     �NHN000

The last 6 characters are the Tagline Status, Name Status, Network Validation
Status and Minimum Age flags as defined earlier. The "Name" field above is
to be gotten from database.cfg, and is used to allow Sysops to change the
Name of their Area (eg - changing the Area's Name in VCONFIG changes the
Name in the Activity report, thus letting the Arealist Co-ordinator know
a change was made).

Software Identification
-----------------------

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