Subj : Re: fsxNet under Synchronet...
To   : mastermind
From : Vk3jed
Date : Mon Jun 22 2020 03:06 pm

-=> On 06-22-20 05:11, mastermind wrote to Vk3jed <=-

 ma> I suppose the true problem is that I don't grasp how FTN message
 ma> networks work and toss the mail - therefor I'm having a hard time
 ma> setting up all the different functions that need to happen. That, and
 ma> the fact that the sync wiki mainly talks about setting up FidoNet, not
 ma> a fsxNet style FTN, and I'm just lost.

FTNs are basically the same, in that they use the same technology to move mail.
 It's just that the addresses used are different, and there's administrative
differences too.  The only parts specific to Fidonet are the application
process - Fidonet's "official" application process might seem arcane, but it
was developed in the 1980s, and it served to show the Net Coordinator (NC) that
the BBS applying had a working FTN setup.

 ma> Maybe I need to research FTN networks FIRST... get a grasp on all the
 ma> vocabulary and what HAPPENS... and then go back in with a broader
 ma> understanding.

Yes, that would give you a good grounding in the technology.  The main
components of a FTN system are:

Applications:
Netmail - messages from user@BBS1 to user2@BBS2 analagous to Internet email.
Echomail - discussion groups, analagus to Usenet newsgroups or discussion
groups on a web forum, that are transferred between BBSs.
File echos - Files that are automatically transferred between systems, and
structured into groups (file areas)

System components:
Mailer - this transfers echomail, netmail and files between systems. 
Originally, this was done at specific times using dialup modems.  Today, the
bulk of mail sessions are done over the Internet at any time.

Tosser (or tosser/scanner).  This scans netmail and echomail posted on the BBS
and packs it for the mailer to send.  The tosser also "tosses" (i.e. processes)
incoming mail received by the mailerc and imports it into the BBS and/or packs
it for distribution to the next system(s) downstream.

TIC processor - names after the control files used for managing file echos
(*.TIC), the TIC processor routes files from file echos to and from the BBS. 
The TIC files tell the TIC processor what files beling in what file echo, and
what systems are to receive the file.

BBS - the BBS is the user interface, where users can send and receive mail,
download files, etc.

The above are the main software components of a FTN system.  They may be
separate packages, as was common in the 90s (examples below), or all in one.

Examples:
All in one systems (though can use some separate components):
Mystic
Synchronet 

Separate software (my DOS based 1990s system):
BBS - Remote Access
Tosser - Fmail or Fastecho (changed depending on needs)
TIC processor - Allfix
Mailer - BinkleyTerm

My current Synchronet system is a bit of a hybrid:
Mailer - BinkD
Tosser SBBSEcho (Synchronet native)
TIC Processor - TickIT (Synchronet native)
BBS - Synchronet.

Anyway, hope that helps. :)
.... Disciplined self-indulgence
=== MultiMail/Win v0.51
--- SBBSecho 3.10-Linux
 * Origin: Freeway BBS Bendigo,Australia freeway.apana.org.au (21:1/109)

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