Welcome to the WWIV Hint file!  I decided to write this file in an attempt
to acquaint the beginning user with the WWIV software written by Wayne Bell.
This file is not meant to be an in-depth documentation for WWIV, rather, the
purpose of this file is to familiarized the new WWIV user with the most
important features of WWIV.  If you would like complete documentation, you
should acquire the file 'WWIVUSER.DOC' from your bbs system operator (SYSOP).

Being a WWIV sysop, I want users to be able to operate the software as
efficiently as possible and as quickly as possible.  WWIV is a very useful
software--one of the best.  I have included a primer of sorts on WWIV to
instruct the beginning user on the use of two of the main areas of the
bbs software: the message base, and the e-mail section.

The first and foremost area of the bbs is the message base.  The message base
determines what the board is--it's personality.  The message base of a bbs is
the area where messages are posted for public view, usually divided into
several different topic areas, or subs.  These subs are usually given a
number and a title of some sort (although it's local bbs tradition to never
stay on the topic in the title).





USING THE MESSAGE BASE
----------------------

In WWIV, there are 2 different ways of reading messages in the message base:
the Q-Scan, and the N-Scan.  You can "Q-scan" a sub by first entering the
sub number at the main prompt (a sub listing can be displayed by hitting '*'
from this same menu) and then entering 'Q'.  The software will then display
the first message of that sub which you have not yet read.  Then, you will
see a new prompt.  From this prompt, you may enter several different commands.
To read the next message, you would simply hit the enter key.  This will bring
up the next message on the sub (messages are labeled numerically beginning
with one and ending at whatever the sysop sets the maximum messages for that
sub); thus, you would then be at message number two.  You can hit R to
re-read the current message, or you can enter any message number to read that
particular
message (entering 22 would take you to message number 22, entering 33 would
take you to 33, etc, assuming there were at least that many messages in the
sub).  You could also 'Auto-Reply' to a user's post.  If you hit 'A', you
will automatically send the author of the last message a private piece
of e-mail that only he will read.  Hit /ES to save the message, and then
you will be returned to the Q-Scan menu.

You can post a message in the sub when doing a Q-Scan in one of three
different ways.  First, you can hit 'P' during your Q-Scan, and you will
automatically be prompted to enter a title and then your message.  After
you have entered your message, save it by hitting /ES at the beginning of
a blank line.  Secondly, you can hit 'W' which will save a message "In
Regards To" the message you just read.  Your message will include the title
and author of the message you are posting in regards to.  Lastly, at the
conclusion of your Q-Scan, you will be prompted to "Post on Such and
Such?".  If you answer yes, you will be prompted to enter a message as if
you had hit a 'P' during the Q-Scan.  If you answer no, the Q-Scan will end,
and you will be back at the main menu prompt.

The N-Scan is nothing more than a "Global Q-Scan".  That is, it does a
Q-Scan on each and every sub.

You can configure which subs the N-Scan will Q-Scan.  This is done through
the defaults.  From the main prompt, hit 'D'.  This will take you into the
WWIV User Defaults section.  Now, hit 5 "Configure N-Scan".  There will now
be a sub listing printed to your screen.  Each sub will have an '*' next to
it.  This shows that each sub is marked to be read each time you perform
an N-Scan.  To unmark a sub, simply enter the sub number.  The list will
be printed again, but this time the sub you entered will no longer have
a '*' next to it.  It will now no longer be scanned.  If you wish to mark
the sub to be scanned again, just enter the sub number again.  The list will
print again and the '*' will have returned.




E-MAIL
------

Another useful feature is the e-mail section.  E-mail is a means for which
the user may send and receive private messages on the bbs.  No one other
than the sysops (security reasons), the sender, and the receiver will be
able to see and/or read the message.

To send someone a piece of e-mail, first hit 'E' from the main menu.  You
will then be prompted to enter the user's name or number.  Enter the desired
response.  You will then be prompted to enter a title and then your message.
Enter /ES at the beginning of a blank line to save the message.  The message
will be saved, and the user will be informed of your mail the next time
he logs on.

Now, when you logon to the board and you have e-mail waiting, you will be
notified by a short message and you will be prompted to read your mail or
not.  Should you answer yes, you will be dropped into the e-mail section.

The E-mail section is nothing more than your own private sub of messages
that only you can read which are sent to you by other users.  You will
find that this section works much like the Q-Scan.  You can hit 'A' to
auto reply to the author of the mail (this will delete the mail you
just read), or you can hit 'S' to save the mail and reply to the author.
You can also just hit 'D' to delete the piece of mail without answering.
You can hit 'I' which will ignore the mail, and save it for later without
sending the author a message.  You can go to different pieces of mail by
entering 'G' and then the mail number.  Once you are through reading your
mail, hit 'Q' and you'll be dumped into the main prompt.

If you want to leave mail to the sysop, just hit 'F' from the main menu.





I hope this little hints file will help you to become a more efficient
user of the WWIV bbs software.  It is in no means a conclusive help file,
but it should get you active in the most important part of the bbs:  the
exchange of information.

                                       -Def Leppard
                                       SysOp, The Adventurer's Guild