• To customize a topic, use TeleFinder/User toopen the local info window for the message topic. See "Using File Information" if you need help opening this window.
The info window displays three additional items, along with the standard file information: a "Read Only Topic" checkbox, an "Admin by" text box, and a "Max Msgs" text box. You will use these items to customize the topic.
• Turn the "Read Only Topic" check box on to make a topic read only. Turning on "Locked" is the same as locking a file from Finder: it prevents any user from adding a message to it.
Making a topic read only is useful when you want to use a topic to distribute messages, but not to receive messages. Users cannot add messages to read only topics unless they have certain privileges. Only users with at least one of the following privileges can add a message to a read only topic:
- A user with the "Can Make Changes" Sysop privilege.
- The user who is the administrator of the topic.
• Enter a number in the "Max Msgs" text box. The BBS will then automatically delete old messages, if necessary, to keep the total number of messages equal to the limit. This process is commonly known as "trimming."
The default limit is 0, meaning the BBS will not limit the number of messages in the topic.
• Enter a user's name in the "Admin by" text box. This gives that user Administration privileges. These are useful when you want to allow one of the BBS users to moderate a topic. Topic administrators can perform two additional functions:
- They can remove messages posted by other users.
- They can post messages to a "Read Only" topic.
Users with the "Can Make Changes" Sysop privilege can also perform these functions, even if they are not the topic administrator. See "access privileges" for more information on a user's capability to remove and post messages.
