BBS door
Encyclopedia
A door is a computer program
, on a bulletin board system
, that runs outside of the main bulletin board program. Sometimes called external programs, doors are the most common way to add games, utilities, and other extensions to BBSes. From the 1990s on, most BBS software had the capability to "drop to" doors. Several standards were developed for passing connection and user information to doors; this was usually done with dropfile
s.
Most doors were responsible for operating the serial port
or other communications device directly until returning control to the BBS. Later development of FOSSIL
drivers have allowed both BBSes and their doors to communicate without being responsible for direct operation of the communications hardware.
A front door operates in the opposite manner from most doors: instead of being launched by the BBS, the front door handles call answering and allows non-BBS calls to be dealt with. This allowed BBSes to accept messages and files, on networks such as FidoNet
, without the calling system having to know the operating details of the recipient's BBS.
Another type of door compiles and transfers BBS messages for the use of offline reader
s. Many doors, including Markmail and Qmail, provided QWK functionality for convenient use with offline readers.
Prodoor provided a different message editor for use with the PCBoard
messagebase.
Sysop
s who were away from the physical BBS sometimes have the capability to use general operating system commands through a special door. One such sysop door was DOORWAY by Marshall Dudley, which could run many DOS programs by modem, including file manager
s, DOS prompt
, and the specialized editing programs that administered the BBS. DOORWAY could also be utilized to safely make certain text mode DOS games playable by BBS users, using various command line switches, without allowing disk writes or dropping out to a command shell.
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
, on a bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
, that runs outside of the main bulletin board program. Sometimes called external programs, doors are the most common way to add games, utilities, and other extensions to BBSes. From the 1990s on, most BBS software had the capability to "drop to" doors. Several standards were developed for passing connection and user information to doors; this was usually done with dropfile
Dropfile
A dropfile is a simple binary or text file used by a bulletin board system to pass information about the BBS itself and the current user to an external BBS door.-Formats:...
s.
Most doors were responsible for operating the serial port
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
or other communications device directly until returning control to the BBS. Later development of FOSSIL
FOSSIL
FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under the DOS operating system. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus SEAdog Standard Interface Layer. Fido refers to FidoBBS, Opus refers to Opus-CBCS BBS, and SEAdog refers to a Fidonet compatible mailer...
drivers have allowed both BBSes and their doors to communicate without being responsible for direct operation of the communications hardware.
Uses
A major use of doors is for door games: computer games played on the BBS. While many of the most popular and memorable BBS doors have been games, numerous doors had non-entertainment applications such as user polls or the time bank, permitting users to time-shift their rationed BBS use. Frequently they act as a front-end to themed databases on subject such as astrology, numerology and fortune-telling, recipes, weather prediction, personal ads (sometimes with additional match-making functionality), classified ads and "for sale" listings (sometimes permitting auctions), BBS lists, and parting comments from the most recent BBS callers.A front door operates in the opposite manner from most doors: instead of being launched by the BBS, the front door handles call answering and allows non-BBS calls to be dealt with. This allowed BBSes to accept messages and files, on networks such as FidoNet
FidoNet
FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems. It was most popular in the early to mid 1990s, prior to the introduction of easy and affordable access to the Internet...
, without the calling system having to know the operating details of the recipient's BBS.
Another type of door compiles and transfers BBS messages for the use of offline reader
Offline reader
An offline reader is computer software that downloads e-mail, newsgroup posts or web pages, making them available when the computer is offline: not connected to the Internet or, in the late 20th century, bulletin board systems...
s. Many doors, including Markmail and Qmail, provided QWK functionality for convenient use with offline readers.
Prodoor provided a different message editor for use with the PCBoard
PCBoard
PCBoard was a bulletin board system application first introduced for DOS in 1983 by Clark Development Corporation. Clark Development was founded by Fred Clark. PCBoard was one of the first commercial BBS packages for DOS systems, and was considered one of the "high end" packages during the rapid...
messagebase.
Sysop
SysOp
A sysop is an administrator of a multi-user computer system, such as a bulletin board system or an online service virtual community. It may also be used to refer to administrators of other Internet-based network services....
s who were away from the physical BBS sometimes have the capability to use general operating system commands through a special door. One such sysop door was DOORWAY by Marshall Dudley, which could run many DOS programs by modem, including file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
s, DOS prompt
COMMAND.COM
COMMAND.COM is the filename of the default operating system shell for DOS operating systems and the default command line interpreter on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me...
, and the specialized editing programs that administered the BBS. DOORWAY could also be utilized to safely make certain text mode DOS games playable by BBS users, using various command line switches, without allowing disk writes or dropping out to a command shell.
External links
- BBS Archives - Huge collection of BBS Doors and related files
- BBSFiles.com — door games, utilities, and forums