:general How to use help --------------- It is hugely recommended that you read help pages 1 though 14 for a quick guide on the commands available and general information. (Do help 1 ... etc) help index gives an index to pages 1-17 help <command> now gives help on individual commands Thanks to Batfink for the original helpfiles, Sparrow for the updated ones, and Xolf for some of the others... (And Chris for the spell checking :) Any problems, comments or suggestions to: summink@somewhere or <the admin> :newbie How to use help --------------- It is hugely recommended that you read help pages 1 though 14 for a quick guide on the commands available and general information. (Do help 1 ... etc) help index gives an index to pages 1-15 help <command> gives help on individual commands Do 'help rooms' 'help lists' and 'help basic' to get a basic overview of what some of the commands do. Look around and enjoy the place. If you would like a permenant account then ask around for 'residency' and you'll usually find there's someone around who can help you out. :0,index Index ----- 1 - general communication 2 - information commands 3 - customisation commands 4 - how to move around 5 - list commands 6 - news mode and commands 7 - mail mode and commands 8 - commands to check things 9 - room mode and commands 10 - more room commands 11 - the editor, and associated commands 12-16 - miscellaneous bits that dont fit elsewhere 17 - basic help and tutorial Do 'help room' 'help list' and 'help basic' to get a basic overview of what some of the commands do. :1,com,comms,communication,communicate General Communication --------------------- say (' ` ") - say a message to people in the same room as you. emote (: ;) - emote an action to people in the same room. remote (<) - an emote , but to a particular person(s). pemote (::) - posessive emote (puts 's after your name). premote (<:) - a pemote, but to a particular person(s). shout (!) - shout something to everyone on the program. tell (>) - tell a particular person(s) anywhere in the program. whisper (=) - whisper to a person(s) in the same room as you. echo (+) - echo to people in the same room as yourself. recho (-) - like echo, but to a particular person(s). reply (]) - reply to a tell to several people. ereply ([) - as reply but for an emote. converse - a typing shortcut where everything you type will be 'said' to the room you are in. Use with care. think (~) - express something as a thought to the room at large. tf - short form of 'tell friends' rf - short form of 'remote friends' rt - short form of 'remote <player(s)> thinks . o O ( <summin> )' :2,information,info Information ----------- who - lists who is currently on the program. (who 2 etc) swho - a brief version of 'who' qwho/fwho - show which of your friends are on. (see help list) twho - does a 'who' with titles, not session messages. where - lists where everyone (or a particular person) is. with - lists who a particular person is with. hide - make it so no-one will know where you are. idle - shows when someone (or everyone) last did something idlemsg - set a message to say why you're idle. examine (x) - show info about a person who is logged in finger - show info about someone who isnt logged in. look (l) - show the room you are in, and who is in it. time - show the local time commands - a list of every command you can do privs - a list of abilities you have. grabable - lists who you can grab. :3,customise,customisation Customisation ------------- title - change the message after your name. prefix - change the message before your name. description - write a little description of yourself. plan - a message for when you're not on the program. prompt - set the normal prompt to something. cprompt - set the prompt as seen in converse mode. password - set your password email - set your email address public - make your email address public for everyone to see gender - change your sex entermsg - change the message people see when you enter a room ghome - toggle whether you get transed to your home when you log in. recap - change the capitalisation of your name age - set your age (0 turns off) birthday - set your birthday (0 turns off) :4,moving,move Moving Around ------------- go - move to an adjacent room. trans - move to anyroom (if you know its id). home - go home. visit - visit a person in their home. main - go back to the main room. leave - same as main. exits - find out where you can 'go' check room - find out the name/id of the room you are in grab - grab someone into the same room as yourself. join - join someone in the room they are in :5,list Your List --------- list - view your list clist - clear entries in your list slist - set particular flags in particular entries rlist - reset particular flags in particular entries tlist - toggle particular flags in particular entries flist - force the flaglist to that specified noisy,ignore, } inform,grabme,} toggle, set or reset flags according to which friend,bar, } command is used on a particular person or invite,beep, } persons in your list block } :6,news Using News ---------- check news - see what news there is news - do a news command, or enter news mode Via the news command, or whilst in news mode read - read a news article view - view all articles (a)reply - reply to a posting (via mail) (prepend 'a' for anonymous reply) (a)post - post an article (a)followup - post an article refering to a previous article remove - remove one of your posts end - exit sub command mode :7,mail Using Mail ---------- check mail - see whats in your mailbox mail - do a mail command, or enter mail mode Via the mail command, or whilst in mail mode read - read a piece of mail to you view - view the mail you have received (a)post - post mail to a person or persons (prepend 'a' to post anonymously) (a)reply - reply to a piece of mail delete - delete mail you have received inform - toggle whether you get informed of new mail for you sent - show what mail you have sent. remove - remove mail that you have sent noanon - toggle whether you will be able to receive anonymous mail end - exit sub command mode :8,checking,check Checking things --------------- check mail - view your mailbox check news - view the news check exits - view the exits in the room check autos - see the automessages in a room check room - list info about a room check rooms - list your rooms check email - see what your email address is set to check wrap - check the line/word wrap stats check entry - check the entry for your name, on someone elses list. check flags - checks how some things are set for you :9,room,rooms Stuff for Rooms --------------- lock - lock and unlock the room you are in. room - do a room command, or enter room mode connect_room - sets the room you will attempt to connect to boot - boots people out of your rooms Via the room command, or whilst in room mode sethome - make this room your home lock - lock a room bolt - close the room to all but you, and open it again lockable - make your room lockable by others apart from you open - make it so anybody can enter a room notify - you get told when someone enters a room of yours link - link your rooms to another linkable - make it so other people can link to a room of yours entrance - opens a room so people can arrive there when they login entermsg - set the message that other people will see when someone leaves a room to enter this room [+-]exit - add or remove an exit to another room (+ to add, - to remove) Continued on 'help 10' or 'help room-more' :10,room-more More Room Stuff --------------- Via the room command, or whilst in room mode edit - edit the description for the room. id - set the id of the room name - set the name of the room info - give some info about the room check - info about all your rooms [+-]auto - add or remove an automessage (+ to add a message, - to remove one) speed - change the speed of the automessages linkable - make it so other people can link to a room of yours autos - check automessages, or turn them on or off delete - delete a room create - create a room end - end sub command mode :11,editor,edit The Editor ---------- Lines not starting with / or . are inserted into the text. .del - delete the current line .- - go back a line .+ - go forward a line .view - see what you've written .l - view the current line .g - goto a line .top - goto the top .bot - goto the bottom .wipe - completely clear the buffer .stats - show some stats about the buffer .quiet - toggle whether you go into 'quiet' mode when editing .end - quit the editor and KEEP the changes .quit - quit the editor and THROW AWAY any changes :12,misc,miscellaneous Miscellaneous ------------- blocktells - ignore any tells to you. earmuffs - ignore any shouts. quiet - go quiet, ignore shouts and tells linewrap - turn off, or set the width of your terminal wordwrap - turn off, or set the largest word that will trigger wrapping show - show what sort of command, some text has originated from. hitells - high-lights any personal messages for you. quit - leave the program list_su/lsu - list the superusers currently on :13,disclaimer Disclaimer ---------- Here, the term 'administrators' refers to Whoosh In no event will the administrators of this program be liable to you or anybody else for any damages, including any general, special, incidental, or consequential damages, arising out of use or inability to use the program, or arising from the actions of you or other users of the program. This includes, but is by no means limited to, the fact that any statement made by any user of the program is not necessarily the view of the administrators, nor supported by them. By using this program you are explicitly accepting the above terms, for this and any future uses of the program, and that you indemnify the administrators against any damages arising in any way to do with your, or anybody elses, use or misuse of the program. :14,rules The Rules --------- The name of the game is to enjoy yourself. What you do on your own is private, but, should anything you do be abusive or annoying to other users (this includes 'piping' or 'spamming'), or at all offensive, then be prepared to bear the full brunt of the consequences. Drug related conversation is in ALL WAYS banned from public rooms (see help drugs for more information on the rule). Smilarly, no exchange or discussion of 'where to get' pirated software is permitted. The actions of any administrator (that includes superusers) are beyond argument. However, please note that NO-ONE on the program has the power to snoop, or intersect anything that happens in private. You must set a valid email address or your user will not save. Please stick to one resident user per person, it saves on disk space. Anybody found having multiple characters, may have ALL their users brutally removed. :15,credits Credits ------- This program is based on the EW-too source code which was coded 92/93 by Simon Marsh. Also Chris Hughes did a lot of work on the code in 93, with it running as Foothills. Then from December 1993 to May 1994 Athanasius did a *LOT* of work on the code as Surfers. Also, thanks go to all the various spods who helped debug the program, and provide valuable suggestions as to what it should do. :16,flags Flags ----- This is a list of the flags you can set for someone in your list, also for everyone: Noisy - person can defeat blocktells and earmuffs Ignore - you will not see anything person does, and if they try a tell they will get your ignoremsg if set. Inform - you will see a message when person connects Grab - person can grab you Friend - person is a friend Bar - blocks person from entering your rooms, even if they are open. Invite - person is invited to your rooms Beep - your terminal will beep when person connects Bloc - blocks tells from person Key - gives person the key to your rooms, they can enter locked rooms and lock and unlock any room Find - person can find you even when hidden :17,basic,intro,tutorial WELCOME TO THIS TALKER V0.90 =========================== OK, first a quick notation note: anything written <something> should be replaced by the value of <something>, eg "trans <owner>.<roomid>" becomes "trans nicolai.atrium" when you put in some specific values for <owner> and <roomid>. THIS TALKER is a place to meet people, hang out, and talk. Please respect other people, and treat them as you would anyone you might meet somewhere else. THIS TALKER is run by the admin(istrator)s, assisted by superusers (SUs). They're the people to talk with if you have problems or questions or suggestions. Unfortunately some people use This Talker to insult and offend others. This is about the only thing which is not allowed. Anyone doing so can expect to be warned and if they persist, banned from using the program. If you are the object of harassment in public, tell a superuser or admin and the person will be subject to punishment. If you are being severely harassed, use emergency scripting. "emergency <reason>" will script for 60 seconds all that happens. "emergency stop" will stop before that time. USE SPARINGLY. If you have a good reason noone will mind. If you don't, they will. Consider the emergency stop on a train. You can also "ignore" a person (when resident), and you can always leave another character's rooms. Continued in basic2,intro2,tutorial2 and basic3, etc. :18,basic2,intro2,tutorial2 THIS TALKER offers many communication commands. The basic one is "say", which is heard by everyone in the room; "tell <someone>" is only heard by 'someone'. "emote" and "remote" are the corresponding action commands. "shout" is heard by everyone on the program, but can be ignored by wearing "earmuffs". "tell" and "remote" can also be done to 'everyone' or 'friends', going to everyone on the program or to those you have named as 'friends' respectively. "echo" statements are used for general atmosphere; they appear with a + at the start. Residents have a title, prefix, plan and description to add to the atmosphere. Please try and set them to something. If everyone does a bit to add to the place, This Talker will become much more than the sum of its parts. Your prefix appears in front of your name when you do most things, your title appears in lists of people in rooms and so on, your description will be seen by anyone who "examine"s you. "examine" will show info about someone who is online, "finger" will get a bit less info (but including the plan, unlike "examine" on anyone) People with permanent characters on This Talker are called residents. If you intend to use This Talker, it is much more comfortable to be a resident. Ask any superuser or admin for residency. You will need to supply your email address, which will remain private and visible only by admins unless you make it public. Note once you are resident your name cannot currently be changed. Being resident means only you can use the name you are resident under. THIS TALKER is divided into rooms. You arrive by default in the main room, the general gathering place. Hang out here to talk and just generally promenade. Residents have rooms of their own, and they can change the description, name, the message people see when someone goes to the room, and so on. Some rooms are open to all, some are only for those specifically invited. The command "bounce" will take you on a semi-random tour of open rooms. If you know the id of a room, you can do "trans <owner>.<roomid>" and get there if you are allowed in. Rooms may have exits, you can see with "exits" and you can go through them "go <exit name>". You can also "join" someone and "visit" their home room if you are allowed to. Read "help rooms" and "help rooms-more" for help on the room commands. :19,basic3,intro3,tutorial3 Room descriptions, mail, and news use the editor. This is a line-based editor which is quite easy to use. Commands to the editor are entered on a blank line beginnging with a ".", so we have ".quit", ".top", etc. Read "help editor" BEFORE using mail, news, or room edit. Each resident has a list. People can be put on it, and then be flagged as friends, as invited, as to be ignored, that a message should be displayed when they login ("inform") and others. Lists are an important part of This Talker. Read "help list" to find out how to maintain your list. Most any numerical limits on a character in the program can be changed on request by an admin, if you can justify it. By Nicolai with a little help from Psmith :-) :help,man,? help,man - Gives help on a topic. <topic> can be a word, typically a command or a number, for the more general help pages. Can be abbreviated to ? Syntax: help <topic> or man <topic> :user_list user_list - This is a comma separated list of users, like joe,fred,sally,sue :pager,page The Pager --------- b or p - Back 1 page. f or n - Forward 1 page. t - Go to the top of what is being paged. q - Quit. Anything else will just re-print the same page. :nopager nopager - Toggles whether you get paged output or not. Read 'help pager' for help on how to use it. Syntax: nopager :|,pipe A way of directing text to several different people. Format: <emote/shout/say/echo> <msg> | <user_list> (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Example emote smiles at you. | batfink,burble You will see : You Emote : Spang smiles at Batfink and Burble. Batfink sees (as a personal message) Spang smiles at you and Burble. Burble sees (as a personal message) Spang smiles at Batfink and you. Everyone else in the room sees (as a room message) : Spang smiles at Batfink and Burble. :say,',`," say (' ` ") - say a message to people in the same room as you. (see also 'help |'). Can be abbreviated to ' or ` or " Format: say <msg> :emote,:,; emote (: ;) - emote an action to people in the same room. (see also 'help |') Can be abbreviated to : or ; Format: emote <msg> :remote,< remote (<) - an emote , but to a particular user_list. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Can be abbreviated to < Format: remote <user_list> <msg> :pemote,::,;; pemote (:: ;;) - posessive emote (puts 's after your name). Can be abbreviated to :: Format: pemote <msg> :premote,<: premote (<:) - a pemote, but to a particular user_list. Can be abbreviated to :< Format: premote <user> <msg> :shout,! shout (!) - shout something to everyone on the program (see also 'help |') Can be abbreviated to ! Format: shout <msg> :tell,> tell (>) - tell a particular user_list anywhere in the program. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>). Can be abbreviated to > Format: tell <user_list> <msg> :exclude exclude - say something to everyone in a room except those specified. Those excluded will be told you said something about them. Syntax: exclude <user_list> <msg> :reply,] reply (]) - tell the same set of users, more than 1, that includes you, that were the object of a previous tell or remote, <msg>. Can be abbreviated to ] Syntax: reply <msg> :ereply,[ ereply ([) - remote to the same set of users, more than 1, that includes you, that were the object of a previous tell or remote, <msg>. Can be abbreviated to [ Syntax: ereply <msg> :whisper,= whisper (=) - whisper to a user_list in the same room as you. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Can be abbriviated to = Format: whisper <user_list> <msg> :think think - Express some comment as a thought to the room at large. Syntax: think <msg> :echo,+ echo - echo to people in the same room as yourself. (see also 'help |'). Can be abbreviated to + Format: echo <msg> :recho,- recho - like echo, but to a particular user_list. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Can be abbreviated to - Syntax: recho <user_list> <msg> :seeecho seeecho - causes echoes to be prefixed with the name of the person who did them. Syntax: seeecho :converse converse - a typing shortcut where everything you type will be 'said' to the room you are in. To leave 'converse' mode type '/end'. Normal commands can be used if prepended by / eg '/emote smiles.' Format: converse :end end - ends commands in a submode and returns to normal mode. Gets you out of mail, room, etc., modes. :who who - lists who is currently on the program. (who 2 etc) :swho swho - a brief version of 'who' 'swho -' will give names only. :qwho,fwho qwho/fwho - show which of your friends are on. (see help list) :list_su,lsu list_su - Shows you the currently logged in and on_duty superusers. Syntax: list_su :twho twho - shows a 'who' with titles, rather than session messages. :where where - lists where everyone (or a particular user) is. You can also do "where everyone" and "where friends" Format: where <user> :with with - lists who a particular user is with. Format: with <user> :hide hide - make it so no-one will know where you are. :idle idle - shows when someone (or everyone) last did something Syntax: idle [<user_list>] :save save - saves your character lest something nasty happen. It will also be saved when you use the quit command, when the program shuts down, hopefully if it crashes, and when certain important things happen to it, BUT NOT IF YOU MERELY DISCONNECT. Syntax: save :wake wake - Attempt to wake someone. Sends them a message and a somewhat obnoxious set of beeps. Syntax: wake <user> :session session - Sets the session. This is for atmosphere, amusement and as a discussion topic. Please set a comment, however trivial, using "comment". Note all users see a message when the session is changed. Syntax: session <whatever> :comment comment - sets a one-line comment to the session topic. Please set one when the session changes, even if it's completely trivial. Syntax: comment <msg> :seesess seesess - Shows you (optionally page <n>) of the session comments. Syntax: seesess [<n>] :motd motd - displays the message of the day. Read this whenever you login, it will contain any important announcements. Syntax: motd :idlemsg idlemsg <reason> - set a message to say why you're idle. eg idlemsg is off to the loo. Then in the places that the idle message shows up people will see:- <your name> is off to the loo. This will only last until you next type a command, even if it is not a valid one. :ignoremsg ignoremsg - sets the message people you are ignoring will receive when they try a tell or remote. Syntax: ignoremsg <msg> :invites invites - lists those people currently logged in from whom you have an invite. Syntax: invites :iacgs iacga - This controls whether you get prompt change messages via the telnet protocol. These can be used by a frontend to display an appropriate prompt. Some telnet clients have problems with this, so it can be switched off. If it ain't broke, don't fix it Syntax: iacga :examine,x examine (x) - show info about a user who is logged in Format: examine <user> or x <user> :finger finger - show info about someone who isn't logged in. Format: finger <user> :look,l look (l) - show the room you are in, and who is in it. Can be abbreviated to l :time time - show the local time and a couple of stats. :commands commands - a list of every command you can do :privs privs - a list of abilities you have. :grabable grabable - lists who you can grab. :recap recap - Recapitalise your name. Syntax: recap <new capitalisation> eg. recap NiCOLaI :title title - change the message after your name. Format: title <msg> :seetitle seetitle - Toggles whether you see session comments or titles in the who list. Syntax: seetitle :prefix prefix - change the message before your name. Format: prefix <msg> :noprefix noprefix - toggles whether you will see prefixes or not. Syntax: noprefix :description,desc description - write a little description of yourself. Format: description <msg> :plan plan - a message for when you're not on the program. Format: plan <msg> :prompt prompt - set the normal prompt to something. Format: prompt <msg> :cprompt cprompt - set the prompt as seen in converse mode. (when already in converse mode use /cprompt Format: cprompt <msg> :password password - set your password :email email - set your email address Format: email <address> :public public - make your email address public for everyone to see (toggles between private and public) :gender gender - change your sex Format: gender m/f/n :entermsg entermsg - change the message people see when you enter a room Format: entermsg <msg> :ghome ghome - toggle whether you get transfered to your home when you log in. :connect_room connect_room - set the room you arrive in when you login. The owner must have set it as an entrance. Syntax: connect_room name.roomid :capitalise capitalise - change the capitalisation of your name Format: capitalise <your name> :age age - set your age (0 turns off) Format: age <number> :birthday birthday - set your birthday (0 turns off) Format: birthday <day>/<month>(/<year>) :go go - move to an adjacent room. Format: go <roomname> :trans trans - move to anyroom (if you know its id). Format: trans <userid.roomid> :bounce bounce - moves you to another mostly randomly chosen open room. This is a nice way to see more of THIS TALKER. Syntax: bounce :home home - go to your home. :colony colony - This takes you to the This Talker nudist colony, a place to mess around. You can do most anything here, as long as you do not involve people in other rooms. Party on, folks! Syntax: colony :visit visit - visit a user's home. Format: visit <user> :hilltop hilltop - takes you to the hilltop. :main main - go back to the main room. :leave leave - go back to the main room. :exits exits - find out where you can 'go' from the current room. :grab grab - grab someone into the same room as yourself. Format: grab <user> :boot boot - boot someone out of your room, back to the main room. Syntax boot <user_list> :join join - join someone in the room they are in Format: join <user> :cls cls - clears the screen. You must have a terminal type set for this. Syntax: cls :clist clist - remove someone's entry from your list Format: clist <user> :slist slist - set particular flags in particular entries (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: slist <user_list> <flag list> :rlist rlist - reset particular flags in particular entries (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: rlist <user_list> <flag list> :tlist tlist - toggle particular flags in particular entries (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: tlist <user_list> <flag list> :flist flist - force the flaglist to that specified (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: flist <user_list> <flag list> :bug bug - Report a bug. Please be as specific as possible. Your report will be logged and dealt with. Syntax: bug <whatever the sodding bug is> :noisy noisy - Allows you to hear a user through 'blocktells' 'ignore' and 'block' (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: noisy <user_list> :find find - Allows someone on your list to find out where you are even when you are hidden. Syntax: find <user_list> :ignore ignore - Allows you to 'ignore' someone. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: ignore <user_list> :inform inform - Informs you when <user> logs in. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: inform <user_list> :grabme grabme - Allows yourself to be 'grab'bed by someone else. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: grabme <user_list> :friend friend - Puts your 'friend' on the checklist for qwho/fwho. See also qwho or fwho (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: friend <user_list> :friends friends - This will, with some commands, do the command to all those on your list as friends. You replace the usual <user_list> with "friends", eg tell friends "hello folks" or finger friends :everyone everyone - This will, with some commands, do the command to everyone. You replace the usual <user_list> with "everyone", eg tell everyone how do I smoke kippers? Can also be a list entry, eg "inform everyone". :bar bar - Bars someone from entering your rooms. Once barred, this user cannot enter, no matter what. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: bar <user_list> :invite invite - Allows the invited user to enter your room, when you have set it to invites only, or when it is open to all. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: invite <user_list> :key key - Gives a person the keys to your rooms. They can enter locked rooms of yours and (un)lock them. Syntax: key <user> :beep beep - Sends a beep to your terminal when <user> logs in. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: beep <user_list> :block block - Stops a user from 'tell'ing to you. (see 'help user_list' for help on <user_list>) Format: block <user_list> :lock lock - lock the room you are in. This means only you and keyholders can enter. :blocktells blocktells - ignore any tells to you. :earmuffs earmuffs - ignore any shouts. :quiet quiet - go quiet, ignore shouts and tells :linewrap linewrap - turn off, or set the width of your terminal Format: linewrap off/<term width> :wordwrap wordwrap - turn off, or set the largest word that will trigger wrapping Format: wordwrap off/<max word size> :show show - show what sort of command, some text has originated from. 'show' on it's own will tell you what it which options(below) will be shown to you. Format: show echo,tell,room,shout,autos :hitells hitells - high-lights any personal messages for you. Terminal types available : xterm, vt220, vt100, vt102, sun, ansi, wyse-30, tv1912, adm, hp2392 If in doubt, vt100 is often a good choice. Format: hitells <termype/?/off> :quit quit - leave the program :resident,residency To obtain RESIDENCY ask a registered user if he/she/it knows of a SU who can, or failing that, shout. Someone will eventually hear your cry... Residents have rooms of their own, which they can decorate as they wish, a saved list and access to more commands than a newbie (non-resident). Also much personal data about them can be set and will be saved. On a more basic level, it means noone else can use your name... :emergency emergency - If there is a problem with someone on the program ie, they are being rude/abusive, and there is no superuser to take action against the offending party, This command makes a script of everything that happens for the next 60 seconds. It is implemented by typing 'emergency' To which the program replies: You must give a reason for starting emergency scripting as an argument. (And the reason better be good ...) Then you enter a reason why you started the scripting. eg: Abusive behaviour from Spang For the next 60 seconds, anything that anybody says will be logged to a file, however, you may stop scripting at any time by typing 'emergency stop'. IF THIS COMMAND IS ABUSED, BE PREPARED TO TAKE THE CONSEQUENCES!!!!! :dynamic Dynamic rooms OK, you all want to know about this: Basically every previous version of This Talker has had all the rooms of all residents loaded into memory at once. This uses rather a lot of memory. Sooooo Burble wrote some code to load the rooms as needed, and this has just been added. This involved major changes to large chunks of the room code. If anyone gets any strange behaviour or bugs associated with rooms, use bug to describe the problem as accurately as possible, including where you were and what you did, and what happened. Also tell any SU or admin around. If you can send us a script of what happened, that would be nice. Email such, and lengthy bug reports in general, to summink@somewhere :wwkban Warwick University bans 'games' such as THIS TALKER from 9am to 6pm weekdays. THAT is why you cannot login to THIS TALKER at those times, so don't complain to us. :copyright Some people have been posting material, including but not limited to songs and poems, written by others, and claiming they wrote it. THIS IS ILLEGAL and also morally bankrupt. Please refrain from doing this. If you must post other's works, make sure you attribute them properly. This is not the primary purpose of the news on This Talker, so original works would be preferred. Exchange or discussion of 'where to get' WareZ, that is, pirated software, is strictly forbidden. Anyone engaging in such can expect to have their character removed and any information we have about the, may well be passed to the police. Should the police investigate we will cooperate. The survival of THIS TALKER comes way above your personal wellbeing! You have been warned! :expiry Character timeout/expiry. If a character has not logged in for some time, it may be automatically deleted by the program. So if you do not wish this to happen, either make sure you use This Talker regularly, or ask for no_timeout. This can be granted by an admin if there are special circumstances that will keep you off the net for a while outside vacations, but when you will definitely be back on This Talker in the medium future. The expiry feature is disabled during and around vacations so you need not worry if you can only login during term time. :clipper Information on Clipper ====================== *THIS IS IMPORTANT!* For those of you who don't know, Clipper is a proposal circulating in the US government right now whereby the government will require that all methods of encrypting data (including e-mail) have a 'backdoor' of sorts so that the government will be able to decrypt and read the data. As you may have guessed, this is an infringement on your right to privacy. To sign on a petition against the Clipper proposal, send a message to: Clipper.petition@cpsr.org with the message "I oppose Clipper" (no quotes) You will receive a return message confirming your vote. For more information ftp to cpsr.org, login as ftp with your email address as the password and have a look at the files in /cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper. :drugs Drugs ----- All drug-related discussion in all public rooms is banned. Drugs referrs to any substance defined as illegal to sell or purchase under US or UK law. No user of this program may may in any way attempt to sell or purchase drugs using this program as a medium. Anyone found doing so will have their character banished, and they will be banned from ever using this program again. There will be no discussions on this rule, it is absolute, and important to the future existance of this program.