NEW LIBRARY FEATURES SOFTWARE
Please go to the New Member Help Forum (GO HELPFORUM) or Customer
Service Feedback (GO FEEDBACK) with any questions.


SUMMARY:
Beginning in mid-March, CompuServe forums are being changed to add new
features to the libraries, change the charges of sending mail from
forums, and fix some problems in the forum software. Highlights of
these changes include:

     - Expansion of file names to 8.3
     - Addition of uploader names to file descriptions
     - Sending mail from an extended service forum is free of postage charges
     - Messages that scroll from a forum in less than one week and messages
        that sysops send from a forum will be sent free of postage charges
     - Change of format of library terminal emulation commands and addition
        of INVentory command
     - Addition of a copyright agreement prompt when contributing files


EXPLANATION OF ALL CHANGES
I.   File descriptions
II.  Terminal emulation library commands/new command
III. New upload prompt
IV.  Mail from forums


I. FILE DESCRIPTIONS
--------------------
All of the following parts of a file's description have been expanded to allow
more room:

FILENAME: Filenames can now be up to eight characters long, a period, then up
to three characters in the extension (for example, FILENAME.TXT). This is an
increase in size of two characters. All files that were uploaded before this
upgrade will keep their original name; files can also be less than 8.3
characters long.

CONTRIBUTOR: File descriptions will now display the contributor's name as well
as User ID. This name is captured from the contributor's forum name at the
time he or she uploads the file. If the contributor changes his or her name
later, the change will not be recorded in the file without modification by
the sysop.

FILE SIZE: While there is no limit to the size of a library file, the amount
of room that is reserved in file descriptions for size is being expanded to
999 megs.

ACCESS COUNT: No hard limit is set for the count of the number of times a file
has been downloaded, but descriptions are being expanded to allow up to
999,999 downloads.

The following parts of a file description have not been changed: submitted
date, file type, title, keywords, and description (abstract).


II.  TERMINAL EMULATION LIBRARY COMMANDS/NEW COMMAND
----------------------------------------------------
These changes in the file description fields (file name, contributor name,
etc) means that the format for the displays of these files will be different.

CIM, CSNav, and other HMI programs:
Members using the CompuServe Information Manager will be able to use 8.3
filenames and expanded file sizes and download counts with no problems. They
will not see contributor names as part of a file's description until later
CIM versions, which will support the new information. Members using CSNav
will be able to upload 8.3 filenames and see contributor names in the next
version of the software.

Other programs:
In terminal emulation, the BROWSE, DIRECTORY, and LIST commands will have
modified formats, and a new command, INVENTORY, has been added to allow quick
listings of the files in a forum.

*BROWSE format example*

   [76703,4363] Mike Schoenbach [SYSOP]
   POLICIES.TXT
     Text, Bytes:123456789, Count:321019, 30-Oct-94(15-Nov-94)
   
     Title   : Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures
     Keywords: PRACTICE FORUM GUIDELINE POLICY RULES OPERATING PROCEDURE
               AGREEMENT
   
     This file outlines the purpose and design of the Practice Forum, our
     Forum Rules and Operating Procedures, and the entire agreement between
     you and the Forum Administrator concerning your participation in this
     Forum.

*DIR format example*

   [76703,4363] Mike Schoenbach [SYSOP]
   POLICIES.TXT
     Text, Bytes:123456789, Count:321019, 30-Oct-94(15-Nov-94)

*LIST format example*

   POLICIES.TXT  2
     1234.5K 15-Nov-94 Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures

*INV format example*
   POLICIES.TXT 2 123K   Practice Forum Rules & Operating Procedures


The BROwse and DIRectory commands will continue to always show the file size
in bytes. The LIST and INV commands will now display sizes as b for bytes, K
for kilobytes, or M for megabytes depending on the file's size.

   Command  File size    Format     Examples
   -------  ---------    ---------  ---------------
   BRO      all          bytes      Bytes:123456789
   
   DIR      all          bytes      Bytes:123456789
   
   LIST     1 - 9999     bytes      1234b
            10K - 9999K  Kilobytes  1234.5K
            10M - 999M   Megs       123.3M

   INV      1-999        bytes      999b
            1K-999K      Kilobytes  999K
            1M-999M      Megs       999M

Members who are using automated programs (such as TapCIS, OzCIS, and AutoSig)
will need to update their software to properly view the new formats. Contact
the software's authors to find out what versions you need and how to upgrade.


III. NEW UPLOAD PROMPT
----------------------
With this new version of forum software, new copyright information will be
displayed when members upload files. Members will now be asked to type
"agree" to state that they have authorization to distribute the file they are
uploading. The new copyright notice will read:

     Copyrighted information must not be placed on the
     Service without the permission of the owner or
     persons specifically authorized to grant this
     permission.  You must either have the right to
     use and distribute information of another, or
     have created the Information and be the owner of
     it to be assured that your upload does not
     violate copyright and other applicable laws.  By
     proceeding with an upload you represent and
     agree that you are the owner of it, or are acting
     with the specific permission of the owner or
     other person authorized to grant these rights.
     
     
             Do you Agree? (AGREE/<CR>) 

Members who use terminal emulation programs or automated programs will begin
seeing this new information immediately, and members who use automated
programs (such as TapCIS, OzCIS, or AutoSIG) will need to upgrade to a new
version of software to upload files. Contact the software's authors to find
out what versions you need and how to upgrade.

Members using programs such as the CompuServe Information Manager, CSNav, or
some versions of OzWIN will be including the new copyright information and
the agree prompt in their next versions. Contact the authors to find out when
the next versions will be released with this copyright information.

This change will not affect members' ability to use automated programs to
schedule an upload while not connected to CompuServe. The new programs will
include this prompt at the time members enter in all the rest of the upload
information in their updated versions; members will not have to be at the
keyboard at the time of the upload.


IV.  MAIL FROM FORUMS
---------------------
The upcoming forum software that's bringing 8.3 filenames and contributor
names to the libraries is also going to include some changes to charges for
forum messages that are sent via mail. The method of charging for mail and
forwarded messages from forums will change. This is the new way that
forwarded, composed, or scrolled messages are charged:

     Cost of        Scroll            Compose
     Forum          to Mail           to Mail
     --------       -------           -------
     Basic/Free     No mail charge    *Postage Due
         
     Extended
     Service/       Postage due if    No mail charge
     Connect        >7 days old
     Charge             

     * Mail sent from free forums by members with sponsored accounts
       or free flags will always arrive free in members' mailboxes,
       in both free and extended forums.

MESSAGES THAT SCROLL TO MAIL
When the oldest message in a forum is about to be deleted to make room for new
messages and the addressee of the message has not read it yet, some forums will
send a copy of that message to the recipient's mailbox.

Messages will always scroll to mail free of charge from free forums.

In an Extended Service (connect time charged) forum, if the scrolling message
is seven days old or less, it will arrive in the member's mailbox free of
charge. If the message has been in the forum for more than seven days, it
will be sent to the member postage due.

Also, the subject line of the mail message will now be the same as the subject
that the message had in the forum. Currently, the mail's subject is "Message
scrolled from XX Forum," which frequently caused confusion when members
replied to the mail without changing the subject. The text of the message
will continue to begin with "This message has scrolled to you from the XX
Forum," and the full header of the message will be included in the text of
the message. The first line of the header will be indented one space in the
message to prevent the number sign (#) from confusing automated programs.

COMPOSING/SENDING A MESSAGE VIA MAIL FROM A FORUM
Mail sent from free forums will arrive postage due. When members choose to
send a CompuServe Mail message from an Extended Service forum, the mail will
arrive free of charge.

Mail sent by a member with a sponsored account or a free flag in a forum will
always arrive in the recipient's mailbox free of charge.


copyright CompuServe Incorporated, March, 1995.

