1. VMB
2. Setting Up the Lists
3. VMB Command Lines
4. VMB Sub Selection Screen
5. VMB for VNET Type Network Subslist Coordinators

                VMB is a utility which greatly simplifies set up of
         networked message bases and file areas.  The principle VMB
         was founded on was that you could use a pre-made list (usually
         an ASCII text file) as the means for selecting and de-selecting
         network message bases and file areas.

               When you first start-up VMB, you'll get a list of networks
         to choose from.  Choose a network.  If the network is a FIDO type
         net, VMB will ask if you want message bases or file areas.
         If the network is Internet, VMB will ask which hierarchy you
         want to manipulate.

               Once you've made made your choices, VMB will display a list
         of available entries.  You can use the Up/Down/PgUp/PgDown/Home/End
         keys to move the highlight bar, and space-bar to toggle.  Use the
         function keys (F-keys) to set your desired defaults.. ie..
         Read and Write Security Levels, Acc Flags, etc for newly added
         entries.  (NOTE: You must do this *before* you actually select/add
         new entries.)

               VMB can use several different types of lists:

         (a) Message bases for VirtualNET and VirtualNET-type networks
         (b) Message bases for the Internet (commonly referred to as Newsgroups)
         (c) Message bases and File areas for FIDOnet and FIDO-type networks
         (d) Message bases for QWK-type networks


         (a) VirtualNET and VirtualNET-type networks use the AREALIST.*
             format as the pre-made lists.  VMB can read and process these.
             Typically, each VirtualNET-type network has its own subdirectory
             on your hard drive, and the AREALIST.* files for that network
             is stored there.

             Typically, you will get updates from the arealist or network
             coordinator of the respective VirtualNET-type network.

         (b) The Internet Newsgroup List is contained in the file NEWSGRP.9,
             avaialble separately as archive VMBLISTS.ZIP. Put this file in
             your DATA directory to be able to access it.

         (c) The FIDOnet Echo List is contained in file FIDO-NA.4, available
             separately as archive VMBLISTS.ZIP. Put this file in your DATA
             directory to be able to access it.

             The FIDOnet Filebone List is contained in file FILE-NA.4, available
             separately as archive VMBLISTS.ZIP. Put this file in your DATA
             directory to be able to access it.

         (d) Lists for the various QWK networks is contained in files QWKLIST.*
             and these files should also reside in your DATA directory.

               VMB command line syntax is as follows:

         VMB               (no parmaters)

         Runs VMB in interactive mode, so that you can select/deselect subs.

               The remaining VMB command line options are commands that you
         might run once in a while, once per week,  or once per day, depending
         on the command and your needs.  These commands apply only to
         VirtualNET-type networks, and you must supply the NETWORKID=
         parameter on the command line when manipulating networks other then
         VirtualNET.  An example of this would be InterGATE, where NETWORKID=8
         would be required.

               Additionally, you may use the optional parameters /SUN, /MON,
         /TUE, /WED, /THU, /FRI, /SAT to specify that an operation should
         only be completed if running on a specific day of the week.
         This allows you to set the command up as a daily event, and
         the executable will be run every day, but the operation will
         only be allowed to proceed on the day specific on the VMB
         command line.  If the current day is different than specified, the
         executable exits without doing the requested action.

               As is the standard in displaying command line syntax, []
         shows optional modifers (stuff that can be omitted), | means
         "OR," and "x" should be replaced with the appropriate network
         slot number as listed in the DATA\NETWORKS.LST file.

     VMB [/SUN | /MON | /TUE | /WED | /THU | /FRI | /SAT] /REPORT NETWORKID=x

         Used by sub-hosts to send up flow reports to the Arealist Coordinator.

     VMB [/SUN | /MON | /TUE | /WED | /THU | /FRI | /SAT] /VCHECK NETWORKID=x

         Used by sub-hosts to remove nodes from the "V" files (distribution
         lists) that no longer exist in the BBSLIST. (ie removes nodes
         which are down from your subs' distribution lists.)

     VMB [/SUN | /MON | /TUE | /WED | /THU | /FRI | /SAT] /RE-ADD NETWORKID=x

         Used by sub-subscribers to re-send ADD requests of the subs they are
         currently set-up for, to the respective hosts of each sub. In other
         words, if you find you are not receiving any messages in one
         or more message areas for a really long time, you may want to try
         this. One or more sub-hosts may have had some accident and lost
         their distribution list.

         This bring up an important point for BBS SysOps to consider:

         Its pretty easy to go to a DOS command line and accidentally delete
         needed files when trying to free up space on a crowded hard drive.
         Please make backups from time to time, or at least, be extra careful
         when deleting files.  Its no fun re-installing things like Win95
         or OS/2 because of accidental deletion.

               When running VMB in interactive mode, once you've selected
         a network and/or list to choose from, VMB will read the list
         you've selected, and examine your current configuration.  The
         list will be displayed on the screen.  The character inside
         the "( )" is your indicator:

         ( )  Not Selected
         (*)  Selected
         (h)  Hosted by your system
         (G)  Gated to another network by your system
         (H)  Hosted & Gated

         (h) and (H) will show up on VirtualNET-type networks only.

               The "SC" flag in the BBSLIST indicates the Subslist
         Coordinator for the VNET Type Network, and where VMB will
         send the Flow Reports (described previously).  In the event
         there is no SC, then the NC can also act as SC. VMB detects
         these situations automatically from examination of the BBSLISTs
         for the VNET network in use.

               To process the incoming Flow Reports and New Sub Requests,
         "SC"'s should run as a daily event:

         VMB /VMB