  2Helpfile: MXhf16X0
 
                   General description of a room system
   
    A room system (BBS) is made up of some number of rooms. A room is simply a
grouping of messages, files, and other objects with a related topic. The name
of the room often relates to that topic.   
  
    So the basic unit in this system is a room. This is comparable with 'areas'
in a lot of other BBS software, but rooms can have both messages AND files
grouped in the same room. (This is commonly done so that the files in the area
can be discussed, or so that files can be uploaded to complement the
discussion in the room.)
 
    Almost all room systems start with a basic command set, and then extend it
for features specific to that BBS software. So once you learn one room system,
going to another is normally quite easy. 
 
    Your prompt will also be the name of the room, so you always know what
room you are in.  This is referred to as the 'room prompt'.
 
    On some room systems, including this one, rooms are grouped into larger
units called halls. These are simply a group of rooms with related topics. It
is also common for room systems to have a large number of rooms, often over
one hundred. (This is why grouping them by hall becomes important.)
  
    The commands in a room system are divided into two types, single key
commands for all the basic functions, such as reading all the new messages in
the current room, and multi-key commands (referred to as 'dot commands'
because they all start with a period) that allow access to advanced features
of the system. You can use a room system without learning the 'dot commands',
but they offer a lot of extra power. This can be everything from searching
the text of the messages in the curent room, to listing the contents of a ZIP
file.
 
 
                         2-- Related Help Topics --0
 
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