Conference Adviser Information

Conference Adviser is an online utility that you can access via the "Users Online" option, found under the "Chat" menu.

Conference Adviser allows you to scan the conference areas on this BBS for messages.  Once a scan has completed you will receive an email message (or a series of email messages) containing the results. An example of the message content is shown below:

New message(s) in conference 'telefinder.sysops'
 Subject : Re: MaxTF and more
    From : Red_Pike@ecottage.tfnet.org
   Index : 122

To access the Conference Adviser, send it an instant message , as detailed below.

Checking for messages to you
Send a message with the text "Check".
This will check conference messages for you, dated since your last logon.

If you wish to check from a different date, use the from keyword, as follows:
"Check from <date>". This command will check the conference messages from the specified date (in the date format native to the area of the BBS eg mm/dd/yy or dd/mm/yy).

If you wish to check limit the search to a specific end date, use the to keyword, as follows: "Check to <date>". Please note, you can freely mix the use of keywords, so both from and to may be used in the same command, eg "Check from 1/1/96 to 5/1/96".

Checking for messages with a specific subject line
Send a message with the text "Check for subject <search-text>".
This will list conference messages which contain <search-text> in their subject line. If <search-text> contains spaces, place it within single-quote characters ('). You may use the criteria described above (from and to) to limit the search dates.

Checking for messages with specific content
Send a message with the text "Check for message <search-text>".
This will list conference messages which contain <search-text> in their body text. If <search-text> contains spaces, place it within single-quote characters ('). You may use the criteria described above (from and to) to limit the search dates.

Checking the results
You may visit other areas on the BBS while waiting for the search to complete. When the search is complete, you will receive a second instant message informing you that the result of the search has been placed in your mail box.

Please note you do not need to stay logged onto the BBS for the search to be completed, you can log back on later and check the results, although this should rarely be necessary, given the speed of the system.

Advanced Commands
Some commands may be mixed together, for example:

The from keyword may be used in any Conference Adviser command [check for subject 'PowerMac 6100' from 15/1/96]. If omitted, the Conference Adviser will use your last logon date.

The to keyword may be used in any Conference Adviser command [check for message 'TeleFinder Web Server' from 1/1/96 to 12/1/96]. If omitted, the Conference Adviser will use the current date. Please note, that use of the to keyword is generally of little use without the from keyword.

The subject and message keywords may be mixed to allow searches under both criteria [check for message 'phones' and subject 'BT']. Currently, the type of search performed is 'or' (ie results will be included if either criteria is true). This may be modified in the near future to support 'and' and 'or' search types, if there is enough demand for the feature.

Performing a Comprehensive Search
The Conference Adviser provides a method of returning to the user the actual body of the message, instead of the standard indexed-message. If this is desired, place the modifier keyword fully anywhere on the command line (after the initial check command, that is). Eg "Check fully from 1/1/96 ot 5/1/96 for subject 'mice'".

Each message matching the criteria will be copied into a sub folder inside your mail folder. The folder would be named as follows: Conference Messages. Inside, you will find a folder for each topic with message matches, and inside each of these folders will be the actual messages. You can delete these messages freely, or move them to your mail folder for later reference. When you are finished, you can ask the Conference Adviser to automatically delete all the remaining messages in the Conference Messages folder. To do this, send the command "Delete conference messages" to the Conference Adviser (through and Instant Message).

The Conference Adviser is brought to you by Highlander Data Systems. For further information, queries or bug reports, please email support@highlander.net.uk.




Revision date 30/7/67