(Picasso) Ivory BBS 3.1

By

Bill Jackson

Introduction:

Ivory BBS is a color/graphics BBS program with a fairly standard set of features. Although there is very little to distinguish it from other programs, it sits, with All American, squarely in the middle of the great Commodore BBS Hierarchy.

The fact that Ivory only supports 1670 and other Hayes compatible modems places it in the late 1980's, to be sure.

The presence of a fairly hefty waiting for call utility list, with hotkeys for all features, probably denotes some All American influence.

Overall, the program gets a thumbs down, but only because there are too many other more powerful programs to choose from. Ease of setup, and a lack of complication may make this attractive to some, however, so that should be kept in mind.


The Facts:

Hardware Information

Computer    :   Commodore 64 or 128 in 64 mode
Video       :   40 cols
Drives      :   (one?) Commodore, Limited CMD (no subdirs, no parts)
Modems      :   1670, Hayes, other RS232 (300-2400)
Input       :   Keyboard
Output      :   Screen, Printer optionally
RAM use     :   N/A
Special     :

General

Pgm Struct  :   Single program
Menu Struct :   Single hotkey menu w/ hard coded submenus
Translation :   ASCII, PETSCII
Access      :   8 levels, decent configurability
Handle/ID   :   Handles allowed, users listed by ID
User info   :   Name, handle, password, last call, phone, credits, etc
User Logs   :   Times, names, transfers
Calls/Time  :   Call limit per user, time limit definable for all levels only
Network     :   N/A
Customizing :   Not terribly
  Programs  :   Program is compiled BASIC, not changable
  Displays  :   Bulletin and certain text files only
  Commands  :   Not configurable
Areas       :   Mostly from main menu, some sub-areas
  E-mail    :   From main menu
  Messages  :   Separate menu
  Transfers :   Separate menu
  Network   :   N/A
  Programs  :   N/A
  Text      :   Separate menu
  User Cmds :   From main menu
  SysOp     :   Locally only, limited functions remotely
  Voting    :   Q&A system from main menu
  News      :   From main menu
  Help      :   N/A
Other       :

SysOp Utilities and Support

Offline     :   Configurator, file editor
Online      :   Chat, User info, access, credits, sysop menu, logoff
Remote      :   N/A
On-L Display:   Name/Access before prompt
W.F.C. Utils:   Full sysop menu: user editor, files editor, cbm-dos, main menu
Chatting    :   From any input
User        :   Editor locally only, no validation feature
Msg Bases   :   Offline config program, msg renumber locally
Transfers   :   Offline config program only
Programs    :   N/A
Network     :   N/A
Drives      :   CBM-DOS commands locally available
Terminal    :   Well featured transfer terminal included

News

Structure   :   Single news file displayed at logon
Header      :   No set header
Weeding     :   By SysOp only
Display     :   At logon, or on demand

Messages

Structure   :   Linear, unlinked messages
Bases       :   Named bases, listed by number
Limits      :   Maximum messages limit
            :   Enforced when a new post is added
Reading     :   By number or locally new
Headers     :   Name, date, subject
Format      :   Text and color/graphics
Writing     :   New posts only
Anonymous   :   Not allowed
Network     :   N/A
Other       :

Message Editor

Structure   :   Line editor
Commands    :   Hitting return on blank line gives a menu
Editing     :   Rewrite line only
Formatting  :   Pseudo word-wrap
Graphics    :   Upper/lowercase supported. Some lack of format support

Transfers

Bases       :   Open directory system
Storage     :   By unkeyed filenames in directory
Limits      :   Enforced by SysOp only
Credits     :   Ratio system
Protocols   :   Xmodem, Punter, Multi-punter
Headers     :   Filename, blocks, type
Selection   :   By filename
Listing     :   Directories & "filename searcher" feature
Network     :   N/A
Other       :

Text Libraries

Structure   :   Numbered list of files
Storage     :   As seq files with proper filename
Network     :   N/A
Other       :

E-Mail

Structure   :   From main menu
Sending     :   By name or ID#
Receiving   :   At logon only
Network     :   N/A
Other       :

Program Libraries

Structure   :   N/A
Programs    :   N/A
Network     :   N/A
Other       :

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