C H A T W I T H L I S A Version 1.0 Copyright 1995 by Mike Fox ****** ChAoS Online (310) 318-5089 or 318-2289 24 Hours/Day LATEST VERSION: =============== The latest version of Chat With Lisa will always be available at: * ChAoS Online - In file area #1 (log on as a Guest User). * America Online - In the BBS Doors library. * Wildcat Support BBS - In the Doors/Games library (805) 873-2400. Version 1.0 was released January 27, 1995. DISCLAIMER: =========== THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL CHAOS ONLINE OR THE AUTHOR OF THIS SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY KIND OF DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. DISTRIBUTION: ============= Chat With Lisa is Shareware. You may post this file for downloading or you may upload it to any other BBS, provided that you do not make any changes to the contents of the archive (ZIP file). The archive and its individual contents may not be sold under any conditions. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: ==================== Chat With Lisa was written so that my callers would always have someone to chat with. You can run Lisa as a Door, with an opening screen that displays the name of your BBS and introduces the caller to Lisa. Or you can bypass the opening screen and pretend to "page" Lisa. She can then be your virtual Cosysop, available 24 hours per day. Lisa will chat with your callers about any subject. She can even Hot Chat (talk dirty) with them. The Sysop can configure Hot Chat to be ON or OFF. Even with the Hot Chat option turned ON, Lisa will pretend to be innocent at first. But if the caller persists in talking dirty to her, she will get very nasty. SYSOP DISCRETION IS ADVISED! If you want Lisa to be safe for minors and prudes, turn Hot Chat OFF in the configuration file. On my BBS, "Chat With Lisa" is on the Main Menu and callers can page her. Most callers are very polite, so if you want to have some fun, change your menu option to "Hot Chat With Lisa" and see what happens. And watch out, some of your users might fall in love with Lisa! FEATURES: ========= * Desqview aware, multi-node. * Use COM 0-15 and non-standard IRQ's. * Fossil driver support. * Will return to BBS on dropped carrier. * Returns to BBS after 4 minutes of no activity. * Support BBS available. * Sysop configurable. PLAYING LOCALLY: ================ To try out Lisa, just type LISA LOCAL and press return. The LISA.CFG file must be in the same directory as Lisa. Unless you have already modified the configuration file, you will see the opening screen and Hot Chat will be turned ON. Lisa's typing speed can be set in the config file. INSTALLATION: ============= Installation consists of modifying two files: A batch file that your BBS calls to run Lisa, and a configuration file that controls the various options. Instructions follow: SAMPLE BATCH FILE: ================== A sample batch file (LISA.BAT) is included and consists of the following: ECHO OFF CD C:\DOORS\LISA <--- Change to the door's directory. LISA LISA.CFG <--- Run the door program using config filename. CD C:\WILDCAT <--- Go back to BBS directory when user exits door. BBS.BAT <--- Restart node or BBS. Use ONLY if you terminate instead of shelling before using the door. SEE YOUR INDIVIDUAL BBS DOCUMENTATION FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON RUNNING DOORS! If you need to use a non-standard IRQ, add the IRQ number after LISA.CFG in the batch file. For example, to use IRQ 5: ECHO OFF CD C:\DOORS\LISA LISA LISA.CFG /5 <--- Non-standard IRQ callout. Include the "slash" CD C:\WILDCAT The /5 tells the program to use IRQ 5 instead of the standard IRQ. Or you can set the IRQ environment variable (SET IRQ=5) and use it as follows: LISA LISA.CFG /%IRQ% <--- Non-standard IRQ callout. Include the "slash" Don't forget to place the batch file in the proper directory so that your BBS can execute it. Usually, the batch file is placed in the BBS directory or subdirectory, not the Lisa directory. CONFIGURATION: ============== You must edit the LISA.CFG file to configure Lisa for your BBS. The Lisa program will read only the first 8 lines, and they must be in the order specified without any blank lines. The following example of LISA.CFG is for all BBS's: (you should edit the LISA.CFG file already supplied) C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS <---, The first line should be the full path to C:\PCB\USERS.SYS | your BBS drop file. The Lisa program can C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS | use any drop file shown here. Select the C:\BBS\USERINFO.DAT |--- correct one and edit the line to provide C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS | the full path. Use only one line here. The C:\BBS\DORINFOx.DEF | second line must be the name of your BBS, C:\BBS\SFDOORS.DAT | as described below. C:\BBS\TRIBBS.SYS <---' ChAoS Online <--- The name of your BBS. Mike <--- First name of the Sysop. Fox <--- Last name of the Sysop. 999999999 <--- Registration code. Use any number if not registered. Once registered, you cannot change lines 2, 3, or 4. on <--- Set Hot Chat to "ON" or "OFF" (don't use quotes). 1000 <--- Lisa's typing handicap. The bigger the number, the slower she types. Start with 1000, then add/subtract as req'd. yes <--- Display opening screen? "YES" or "NO" (don't use quotes). Remember to press at the end of each line, including the last one (don't leave trailing spaces on any line). Also check for spelling errors and make sure that LISA.CFG is located in the Lisa directory. MULTIPLE NODES: =============== When specifying the location of the drop file on line 1 of LISA.CFG, you may use the environment variables %wcnodeid%, %pcbdrive%, %pcbdir% and %pcbnode%. THIS ALLOWS YOU TO USE JUST ONE CONFIGURATION FILE TO RUN MULTIPLE NODES! Here are some examples: For Wildcat 4.X software, the first line in LISA.CFG could be: C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE%WCNODEID%\DOOR.SYS For PCBoard software, the first line in LISA.CFG could be: %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\NODE%PCBNODE%\USERS.SYS or just C:\BBSDIR\NODE%PCBNODE%\USERS.SYS Non-PCBoard systems may also use the PCB variables by including the following in your LISA.BAT or AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET PCBDRIVE=C: <--- Drive letter of your BBS files. SET PCBDIR=\BBSDIR <--- Path to your BBS files. SET PCBNODE=1 <--- Number of the node running Lisa. Since this could change, add it to LISA.BAT as req'd. In the LISA.CFG file, you could then specify the correct path to the drop file for different nodes by using a line similar to the example shown above for PCBoard software. FOSSIL DRIVER SUPPORT: ====================== DoorFrame supports the use of Fossil drivers. To use the Fossil driver instead of the standard COM ports, just add /FD after LISA.CFG in the batch file. For example: ECHO OFF CD C:\DOORS\LISA LISA LISA.CFG /FD <--- Use the Fossil driver! CD C:\WILDCAT If no Fossil driver is detected, DoorFrame will print a message to that effect and then exit the door gracefully. TECHNICAL SUPPORT: ================== Although I can correct mistakes (if any) in the Lisa program, I have no control over the DoorFrame software that "runs" Lisa. I am trusting the DoorFrame software to reliably support different BBS environments. If any internal errors do occur, check for a file called DFRAME.ERR and tell me what the error code is. Also read the HELP.TXT file for common problems. Like all mortals, my time is limited. So please don't call and leave messages like "It doesn't work" or "I get an error". If you want my help, give me the details, ie: What did the screen display? When did it occur? What error code? Which BBS software? etc, etc. And if you don't know how to use DOS, or haven't read the instructions, or can't edit batch files, or don't know how to run your BBS, I will be happy to teach you... for $60.00 per hour :) WHERE TO REACH ME: ================== BBS: ChAoS Online, (310) 318-5089 or 318-2289 (I am the Sysop) If you need a response, log on with an alias and [Y]ell at the Sysop from the Main Menu. Call back in 48 hrs to read your mail. America Online: Send e-mail to MikeFox1@aol.com I check my mail at AOL at least once a week. Snail Mail: ChAoS Online P.O.Box 1211 Torrance, CA 90505 PROBLEMS WITH 486DX COMPUTERS: ============================== According to the DoorFrame documentation: "The math co-processor in 486DX computers cannot handle the floating point math that all Micro- Soft Basics use". If you keep getting a premature "keyboard timeout" or you get an ERROR 5 or ERROR 6, place the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET NO87=ON This will turn off your math co-processor and allow the door to function properly. SOME QUICKBASIC ERROR CODES (DOORFRAME USES THE SAME CODES): ============================================================ 2 Syntax error 61 Disk full 5 Illegal function call 62 Input past end of file 6 Overflow 63 Bad record number 7 Out of memory 64 Bad filename 11 Division by zero 67 Too many files 13 Type mismatch 68 Device unavailable 24 Device timeout 69 Comm-buffer overflow 25 Device fault 70 Permission denied 52 Bad filename or number 71 Disk not ready 53 File not found 72 Disk media error 55 File already open 74 Rename across disk 57 Device I/O error 75 Path/File access error 58 File already exists 76 Path not found 59 Bad record length Error #53 can be caused by a missing LISA.CFG or LISA.DAT file, or the program cannot find the BBS drop file. Error #62 is usually caused by the LISA.CFG file not having enough lines. REGISTERING: ============ Unregistered users will be subjected to a delay screen while entering or exiting Lisa. Sorry about that, but I had to give you some incentive to send me money. Print out REGISTER.TXT when you are ready to register. It's only $10 and is good for all future versions of Chat With Lisa. FUTURE VERSIONS: ================ Tell me what you want. My plans for the next version include: * Realistic typing mistakes by Lisa. * Optimized vocabulary to address the most popular topics. * Include the caller's name in Lisa's responses. * Random Hot Chat scripts, so you won't get tired of Lisa. END OF FILE! ============