Hey August!

You are still connecting with a host system with binkp, and fetching
.PKT files, right?

Uncompressed .PKT files in order to avoid zip and other such corruption. At present, and past for that matter, this fidonet node has been using binkd for transfers to host nodes out there it requires connecting with.

And then you are doing something with those .PKT files and storing
them in JAM format or something other?

You have the basic idea. However the format is not PKT as all of that is stripped out considering it is utter crap. Same with the first 14 bytes of packed msg's which are also given ye olde heave-ho. Basically it is a stored msg format without any binary data to get in the way of progress. It is 100%, unadultered printable text with a few ascii control codes to facillitate all sorts of compatibilty you can ever dream up, including QWK if that is actually a desirable option, which of course it isn't.

Дуже груви,
Maurice

o- -o o- o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o- o-
/) (\ /) /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Soþ hit sylf acyþeð.
Truth will make itself known.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hello Maurice!

It is 100%, unadultered printable text with a few ascii
control codes to facillitate all sorts of compatibilty you
can ever dream up, including QWK if that is actually a
desirable option, which of course it isn't.

So.. what does the UI for messaginglook like?


--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hey August!

So.. what does the UI for messaginglook like?

Not much. For reading I just output to the linux terminal using regular gnu text applications such as 'cat' and 'less' and the such. For posting I am using vim. I was going to do something with ncurses not unlike msged and/or golded but as of yet haven't gotten around to it.

Дуже груви,
Maurice

-o -o -o -o o- o- o- -o o- o- o- o-
(\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ /) /) /) /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Ne beo þu no to tælende, ne to tweospræce.
Do not be too quick to disparage, nor too double-tongued.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hello Maurice Kinal!

** On Saturday 27.12.25 - 00:02, Maurice Kinal wrote to August Abolins:

Hey August!

So.. what does the UI for messaginglook like?

Not much. For reading I just output to the linux terminal
using regular gnu text applications such as 'cat' and
'less' and the such. For posting I am using vim. I was
going to do something with ncurses not unlike msged and/or
golded but as of yet haven't gotten around to it.

So, basically you list your messages with ls? Are the message
files renamed with subj/from-to/date/subject so that you can
see what they are quickly?

And I suppose you can't display msgid-relationships for
navigating a thread?

References of "which is why I built my own.."
755 26.12.25 Maurice Kinal Are QWK packets still the
+ 973 26.12.25 ÀÄÄAugust Abolins
799 26.12.25 ÀÄÄMaurice Kinal
+ 699 26.12.25 ÀÄÄAugust Abolins which is why I built my own..
1365 26.12.25 ÀÄÄMaurice Kinal
+ 371 26.12.25 ÀÄÄAugust Abolins

805 27.12.25 ÀÄÄMaurice Kinal

+! 788 26.12.25 ÀÄÄAugust Abolins




--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hey August!

So, basically you list your messages with ls?

As of this writing, all incoming is dumped into a single file with individual msgs occupying a line. Thus "wc -l" incoming.file will yeild the number of msgs in the file.

Each msg (line) contains five fields; $DateTime\0$To\0$From\0$Subject\0\$Body\n

And I suppose you can't display msgid-relationships for navigating a
thread?

Yes. kludges are part of $Body and are easily be 'grep'ped from that field. They stick out like a sore thumb given the leading '\1' character. However I could easily be convinced to putting kludges into their own field.

Дуже груви,
Maurice

o- -o o- -o -o -o o- o- -o o- o- -o
/) (\ /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Se cræft þæs lareowdomes bið cræft ealra cræfta.
The art of teaching is the art of all arts.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hey August!

One line per message.. sounds very efficient.

For sure. Faster processing as well.

You'd need extra logic to produce a FULL list of threaded/ connected messages.

Like the output of unix-tree?

Дуже груви,
Maurice

-o -o -o -o o- -o o- o- -o -o o- -o
(\ (\ (\ (\ /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ /) (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Ich habe Eichhörnchen in meiner Hose!
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hello Maurice!

** On Saturday 27.12.25 - 17:59, you wrote:

You'd need extra logic to produce a FULL list of threaded/
connected messages.

Like the output of unix-tree?

Sounds like your "system" is just a collection of various unix
commands at the cmd-line. How do you mark a message for a
reply later?

Take a look at OpenXP and give it a spin! It's available for
linux as well.


--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hello Nick!

** On Sunday 28.12.25 - 08:11, you wrote:

If you're still referring to OpenXP here, I'm not sure if
there has been any more development lately or not (or if
there ever will be), but last time I checked, the Linux
version still didn't support utf-8.

The latest one seems to be Feb 2025:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/openxp5/files/OpenXP%205.0/

Winpoint did a little bit better, but still wasn't 100%,
and well, it's Windows only, so that's already a huge
limitation.

It thought Win-anything was going to be my final approach to
this messaging hobby, but I actually grew quite fond of the
text-based OpenXP.

I had mentioned a bug in how it handles time and UTC
offsets upwards of 1-2 (or more, time flies these days)
years ago, got a reply that it would be looked into, and
nothing ever came of it.

I recall something re a time issue. But was there an
acknowledgement? ..or just an excuse?

What's the big deal with UTF-8 in FTN anyway? Do we need utf-8
emojiis in these messages?

As-is, my font [Lucinda console] & charset supports French,
Spanish, Norwegian, and few others.
--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hey August!

On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:58:00 -0500, you wrote:

I recall something re a time issue. But was there an
acknowledgement? ..or just an excuse?

Both, I suppose. First it was argued that I was wrong. After I showed screenshots as well as what time it actually was on my system, it was looked into a bit further, acknowledged, and then I never heard about it again. *shrug*

What's the big deal with UTF-8 in FTN anyway? Do we need utf-8
emojiis in these messages?

Nothing, really. It's just another advancement in the hobby that could benefit others (but doesn't have to), much like ipv6.

As-is, my font [Lucinda console] & charset supports French,
Spanish, Norwegian, and few others.

Whatever works for you, of course!

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Hi Nick...

Hey August!
On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:45:00 -0500, you wrote:

The last update contribution seems to be on 2025-08-29
actually. Hardly abandonware.
--- OpenXP 5.0.64

The last commit on that date was this (translated):
- Fixed small display issue with UTF8 encoded messages
However, if you would want to see that fix in action, you would have to compile it yourself as it's not included in the "latest release" of 5.0.64.
Regards,
Nick
... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.

i'm having a friend look into that, and do a fresh compilation, and hopefully address the latest ncurses issue.

--
/|ug
https://t.me/aabolins

--- Want fido for iOS/MacOS/Android/Win/Linux? https://shrtco.de/tpJ9yV
* Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)

Hey August!

GNU Pascal won't work for a linux version?

I didn't know there is/was a GNU Pascal!?!?! At the moment I am considering free pascal (www.freepascal.org) which appears to be the best supported pascal compiler for linux as we speak. My hesitation is centered around the ncurses version issue which probably will require some hacking. I've never hacked with a pascal compiler before.

Дуже груви,
Maurice

o- -o -o o- o- o- o- -o o- -o o- -o
/) (\ (\ /) /) /) /) (\ /) (\ /) (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Ræd sceal mon secgan, rune writan, leoþ gesingan, lofes gearnian.
One should give counsel, write secrets, sing songs, earn praise.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hello Maurice!

GNU Pascal won't work for a linux version?

I didn't know there is/was a GNU Pascal!?!?! At the
moment I am considering free pascal (www.freepascal.org)
which appears to be the best supported pascal compiler for
linux as we speak. My hesitation is centered around the
ncurses version issue which probably will require some
hacking. I've never hacked with a pascal compiler before.

I see a file called ncurses.pas in the source package.

Not sure what an "updated" version needs to look like.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hey August!

It *does* seem to be geared or fpc.

Errrr ... yeah.

BTW.. look at this dir: openxp5-code-r787\xplib

Will do but first and foremost it needs a working x86_64 based pascal compiler. Without that we're just guessing.

There is an ncurses.pas file too. Dunno if that's what you need to
"update".

A working pascal compiler. I'll give freepascal a go on a spare developmnet partition that sits unused since I am waiting for the newest glibc which is due for release soon. This way if I decide to bail on pascal it won't take much to get rid of. From my current understanding the build process is much like building JDK (Java Deveelopment Kit) and requires an already working freepascal compiler installed first. Myself I ditched java decades ago without any regrets. Pascal might turn out to be the same.

Care to place any bets on it's surviverability?

Дуже груви,
Maurice

-o -o -o -o -o -o -o o- o- o- -o o-
(\ (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Man deþ swa he byþ þonne he mot swa he wile.
A man acts what he is when he may do what he will.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hello Maurice!

** On Saturday 27.12.25 - 00:02, you wrote:

[...] For reading I just output to the linux terminal
using regular gnu text applications such as 'cat' and
'less' and the such. For posting I am using vim. I was
going to do something with ncurses not unlike msged and/or
golded but as of yet haven't gotten around to it.

BTW..

You can define an external editor you want in OpenXP:

"The built-in editor can only do code page 437, so not much
more than that ASCII. You can find a UTF8 capable editor in Config/Options/Editor configure and ensure correct display in
the Crosspoint DOS window Set "Consolas" as the character set."


--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (2:221/1.58)

Hey August!

You can define an external editor you want in OpenXP:

Same situation with both msged and golded. In their favour is that the source is c (msged) or c++ (golded). Last I checked they both worked with whatever gcc/g++ version I was using at the time.

However despite the above, I still prefer my modified MSG format which can handle many, many, many differing 8-bit codepages such as the IBM ones, cp437 and cp866 being the most popular, neevermind pure utf-8. Neither squish nor jam based editors, can compete as far as I am concerned and therefore no attraction for another application especially one that requires an additional compiler.

Also, I actually use vim in my day-to-day text editting so I can always count on it to be part and parcel of any build I have done over the past 30 years or so.

Дуже груви,
Maurice

-o o- -o -o -o -o o- -o -o o- -o o-
(\ /) (\ (\ (\ (\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Gif ðu wille godne hlisan habban, ne fægna ðu nanes yfeles.
If you want to have a good reputation, don't rejoice in any evil.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.9(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)