Hi Neil,

On 2026-04-06 00:50:55, you wrote to All:

@MSGID: 39:136/1 9D358CF0
@PID: ZeusBBS 1.8 3e9

Can you implement the TZUTC kludge? ;-)

Hi all,

No promises at all, but after a very long time I've found some time to do

a

bit of this..:

...

Slink - Version 6.59
Copyright (c) 1988-1995 SAS Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Pass1 for Object 'T:VZECFP.0001'
Memory Map: Hunk Section

Parsing 0:00.00 --- 19298
Pass1 0:01.86 --- 843522
Coalescing 0:00.08 --- 621842
Pass2 0:00.74 --- 662266
Map Processing 0:00.04 --- 121130 ======================================
Total 0:02.72 --- 843522

SLINK Complete - Maximum code size = 99408 ($00018450) bytes

Final output file size = 159744 ($00027000) bytes

33.Code:zeus/Alex/zeus> version Zeus full
Zeus 1.8 (06/04/2026)

I'm getting myself back into it gently - I've reworked ZPOP3Xfer as a

first

project. A bit of a useless program these days but a nice codebase to work

on

and I've added a few new features to it.

Hopefully see you around a bit more often ! :-)

Great news!


Bye, Wilfred.

--- FMail-lnx64 2.3.2.6-B20251227
* Origin: FMail development HQ (39:150/200)

Hello Wilfred,

On April 6 '26 you wrote to Neil Williams:

TID: FMail-lnx64 2.3.2.6-B20251227
RFC-X-No-Archive: Yes
TZUTC: 0200
CHRS: CP850 2
PID: GED+LNX 1.1.5-b20240604
MSGID: 39:150/200 69d38091
REPLY: 39:136/1 9D358CF0
Hi Neil,

On 2026-04-06 00:50:55, you wrote to All:

@MSGID: 39:136/1 9D358CF0
@PID: ZeusBBS 1.8 3e9

Can you implement the TZUTC kludge? ;-)

Hi all,

No promises at all, but after a very long time I've found some
time to do a bit of this..:

...

Slink - Version 6.59
Copyright (c) 1988-1995 SAS Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Pass1 for Object 'T:VZECFP.0001'
Memory Map: Hunk Section

Parsing 0:00.00 --- 19298
Pass1 0:01.86 --- 843522
Coalescing 0:00.08 --- 621842
Pass2 0:00.74 --- 662266
Map Processing 0:00.04 --- 121130 ======================================
Total 0:02.72 --- 843522

SLINK Complete - Maximum code size = 99408 ($00018450) bytes

Final output file size = 159744 ($00027000) bytes

33.Code:zeus/Alex/zeus> version Zeus full
Zeus 1.8 (06/04/2026)

I'm getting myself back into it gently - I've reworked ZPOP3Xfer
as a first project. A bit of a useless program these days but a
nice codebase to work on and I've added a few new features to it.

Hopefully see you around a bit more often ! :-)

Great news!

Bye, Wilfred.

--- FMail-lnx64 2.3.2.6-B20251227
* Origin: FMail development HQ (39:150/200)
SEEN-BY: 11/0 13/0 15/0 17/0 39/0 42/0 90/0 140/0 150/200 160/242 508 190/101 SEEN-BY: 260/512 270/2226 423/120 901/280 902/0 513 943/0 970/0 PATH: 150/200 190/101 •

It's time to get to work!!! You haven't done anything for 30 years! :D
What surprises do they have in store for us?

--- April V1.09 (SAS)
* Origin: April message tosser/viewer (39:190/101.2)

Hi Tanausu,

On 2026-04-07 14:55:15, you wrote to me:

33.Code:zeus/Alex/zeus> version Zeus full
Zeus 1.8 (06/04/2026)

I'm getting myself back into it gently - I've reworked ZPOP3Xfer
as a first project. A bit of a useless program these days but a
nice codebase to work on and I've added a few new features to it.

Hopefully see you around a bit more often ! :-)

Great news!

It's time to get to work!!! You haven't done anything for 30 years! :D What surprises do they have in store for us?

Do you realize this message was about Zeus (by Neil Williams) and not April? ;-)


Bye, Wilfred.

--- FMail-lnx64 2.3.2.6-B20251227
* Origin: FMail development HQ (39:150/200)

Hello Wilfred,

On April 7 '26 you wrote to me:

33.Code:zeus/Alex/zeus> version Zeus full
Zeus 1.8 (06/04/2026)

I'm getting myself back into it gently - I've reworked
ZPOP3Xfer as a first project. A bit of a useless program
these days but a nice codebase to work on and I've added a
few new features to it.

Hopefully see you around a bit more often ! :-)

Great news!

It's time to get to work!!! You haven't done anything for 30
years! :D What surprises do they have in store for us?

Do you realize this message was about Zeus (by Neil Williams) and not April? ;-)

I didn't say it like that, because of your comment :D

--- April V1.09 (SAS)
* Origin: April message tosser/viewer (39:190/101.2)

Hi Neil,
In a message dated 06 Apr 26 you wrote to All :

Hi all,

No promises at all, but after a very long time I've found some time to
do a bit of this..:

I'm getting myself back into it with some gentle work around zpop3xfer to add some new features.

And then a really big missing feature - native telnet(s) support direct into the BBS.

I use telser normally, but find it hangs when hammered by probes on the modern internet. So far this native support is holding up to testing ..


28/03/26

o zeus - added comments to the Zeus source file - the first active
work done in a very long time.

29/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer -
Recreated config.c for ZPOP3Xfer, bringing that codebase back to life.
Noted that the feature complete version of
ZPOP3Xfer from 2003, before the source code loss, has been running as-is
for nearly 23 years since 23/04/03.

30/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added a Ctrl-C handler, aborting a fetch of emails
from one server part-way-through safely.
Improved help shown when called with ? or incorrect arguments.
Added a CONFIG argument to the command line to support running with
alternative POP3 configurations.

08/05/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added support for POP3S - POP3 over SSL/TLS on port 995.
Requires AmiSSL v5.

11/05/26

o TelnetConnector, TelnetSevice, Prefs/Lines - added support for native
telnet support, including native support for telnets (secure telnet
over TLS) using the optional AmiSSL v5 integration.

12/05/26

o mbzeus - researched a design error. The maintenance function renumbers
messages from 1 when cleaning up a message base. This break user
highptrs. It cannot be removed as another function expects delete
messages to exist in the Hdr file. More work needed.
o mbMananger - fixed compilation bug around the mbInitalise() call.

--- Mail Manager 1.22x/n #1511
* Origin: 9,600 bps (39:13/0.20)

Welcome back Neil!

On Tuesday May 12, 2026, Neil Williams said to All...

Hi Neil,
In a message dated 06 Apr 26 you wrote to All :

Hi all,

No promises at all, but after a very long time I've found some time to
do a bit of this..:

I'm getting myself back into it with some gentle work around zpop3xfer
to add some new features.

And then a really big missing feature - native telnet(s) support direct into the BBS.

I use telser normally, but find it hangs when hammered by probes on the modern internet. So far this native support is holding up to testing ..

28/03/26

o zeus - added comments to the Zeus source file - the first active
work done in a very long time.

29/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer -
Recreated config.c for ZPOP3Xfer, bringing that codebase back to
life.
Noted that the feature complete version of
ZPOP3Xfer from 2003, before the source code loss, has been
running as-is
for nearly 23 years since 23/04/03.

30/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added a Ctrl-C handler, aborting a fetch of emails
from one server part-way-through safely.
Improved help shown when called with ? or incorrect arguments.
Added a CONFIG argument to the command line to support running with
alternative POP3 configurations.

08/05/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added support for POP3S - POP3 over SSL/TLS on port
995.
Requires AmiSSL v5.

11/05/26

o TelnetConnector, TelnetSevice, Prefs/Lines - added support for native
telnet support, including native support for telnets (secure telnet
over TLS) using the optional AmiSSL v5 integration.

12/05/26

o mbzeus - researched a design error. The maintenance function renumbers
messages from 1 when cleaning up a message base. This break
user
highptrs. It cannot be removed as another function expects
delete
messages to exist in the Hdr file. More work needed.
o mbMananger - fixed compilation bug around the mbInitalise() call.

--- Zeus BBS 1.5
* Origin: CIA AMIGA BBS - ciaamiga.org:6400 (39:902/522.0)

Hi Neil,
In a message dated 06 Apr 26 you wrote to All :

Hi all,

No promises at all, but after a very long time I've found some time to
do a bit of this..:

I'm getting myself back into it with some gentle work around zpop3xfer to

add some new features.

And then a really big missing feature - native telnet(s) support direct

into the BBS.

I use telser normally, but find it hangs when hammered by probes on the

modern internet. So far this native support is holding up to testing ..

28/03/26

o zeus - added comments to the Zeus source file - the first active
work done in a very long time.

29/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer -
Recreated config.c for ZPOP3Xfer, bringing that codebase back to

life.

Noted that the feature complete version of
ZPOP3Xfer from 2003, before the source code loss, has been running

as-is

for nearly 23 years since 23/04/03.

30/03/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added a Ctrl-C handler, aborting a fetch of emails
from one server part-way-through safely.
Improved help shown when called with ? or incorrect arguments.
Added a CONFIG argument to the command line to support running

with

alternative POP3 configurations.

08/05/26

o ZPOP3Xfer - added support for POP3S - POP3 over SSL/TLS on port 995.
Requires AmiSSL v5.

11/05/26

o TelnetConnector, TelnetSevice, Prefs/Lines - added support for

native

telnet support, including native support for telnets (secure

telnet

over TLS) using the optional AmiSSL v5 integration.

12/05/26

o mbzeus - researched a design error. The maintenance function renumbers
messages from 1 when cleaning up a message base. This break user
highptrs. It cannot be removed as another function expects delete
messages to exist in the Hdr file. More work needed.
o mbMananger - fixed compilation bug around the mbInitalise() call.

--- Mail Manager 1.22x/n #1511
* Origin: 9,600 bps (39:13/0.20)

A lot is happening. It's great to see the projects moving forward.

I'm interested again in setting up a test system on Amiberry or WinUAE. We
had cnet 3, but I never configured it, and as far as I know, neither did
zeus. Someone else was already handling that.



--- CrashEdit 0.1a AmigaOS 3
* Origin: Citrick BBS citlmbbs.synchro.net (39:190/101.2)

12/05/26

Onwards .. we are very close to Zeus 1.8 making an appearance.

I'm starting to get to where I'm making changes for fun and to scratch long-term itches.

The big change is the native telnet support. It is massively more reliable
than telser - I've had my system hit with probes with no crashes - and the little 50MHz processor didn't sweat either. I put it live a week ago.

Here's the changelog since my last post.


25/05/26

o ListMsgAreas - added missing documentation.

28/05/26

o AreaChange.zeus - added a feature to show the last message's date
in each area. Shows at a glance which areas areas are 'dead'.

30/05/26

o XprXfer, Hydra - these two tools depended specifically on having a
serial
device to connect to. When in the new Telnet mode, there is no device.
Unfortunately there was no checking of this so we got Enforcer hits
and
a crash. They have been updated to work in a wholly pipe mode when
a serial device is not present, and retain the existing performant
direct-to-serial mode when on a real serial connection. Pipe mode
means it can use any connector that Zeus is using for the screens
(i.e. TelnetConnector)
In both utilities, the pipe-mode path is entered only when
ln->ln_TelnetCfg != NULL
Serial/modem lines are unaffected.

02/06/26

o Internal - reverse engineered the autodocs for the libraries back into
the source files. Added comments to much of the code for the two
main libraries, ZMailer and ZMailer prefs, and ZMP.
o Internal - wrote a build script to automate building of releases.
o BBSLine - increased the size of the pipe buffers from 1KB to 32KB.
This is required to give adequate performance under Telnet. 1KB is
sufficient when the design limit was a 33.6k modem but insufficient
to support file transfers over Telnet, even with 10MBit/s networking.
Each line has three pipes, so previously this was 3KB per line of
buffers. Now each line needs 96KB, so an extra 93KB. An 11 line BBS
is looking at an extra 1MB of RAM required.

04/06/26

o Documentation - started adding docs for the new features, and updating
the layout: some of the very large chapters of zeus.guide have been
broken into smaller and more managable sections.

19/06/26

o Security - reviewing code for buffer overflow issues with minor fixes
to zeus.library, zmf.library, Zeus, BBSLine, ZMailer and ZMP.

07/07/26

o Prefs/Lines - fixes to telnet lines to copy the shared configs across
all telnet lines - each line with the same port number shares a config
by design and necessity.

05/08/26

o TelnetConnector - correctly resets the GUI when the client disconnects. o
TelnetConnector - when clicking the icon on Control, now activates the
window if already open.
o TelnetListener - when clicking the icon on Control, now activates the
window if already open.

06/08/26

o Prefs/Lines - fixed bug that caused a crash when generating a
certificate
for TelnetS.

11/08/26

o TelnetListener - added resizable window, ability to snapshot the window
position (saves to disk), a new right-click menu to access the
Snapshot
function, enhanced logging, a message on the command line if the port is
already in use, shows the port number in the window title.
o TelnetConnector - added resizable window, ability to snapshot the window
position (saves to disk), a new right-click menu to access the
Snapshot
function, shows the line number in the window title.
o ZMP - added CONFIGTEST (CONFIGURATIONTEST) switch, which loads and
checks
the configuration and then exits without running any tasks. Reports
"Configuration sanity checks passed." or the usual errors followed by
"Error in config." and a return code of 20. Bypasses the "already
running" check, as it takes no actions.
o ZMPStat - reinstated the SORT keyword, whose source was lost some years
ago although the released binaries have it. SORT=NAME sorts the areas
shown by area name, SORT=TAG by tag name, and SORT=NUMBER gives the
usual area number order. The sort is case insensitive, areas sharing
a name are shown in area number order, and it applies to both the ALL
and RANGE listings. An unrecognised SORT value now reports the valid
ones and exits with a return code of 20.
--- Zeus BBS 1.8
* Origin: http://www.zeusdev.co.uk/ (39:13/0.0)

Hi Neil,
In a message dated 11 Aug 26 you wrote to All :

12/05/26

Onwards .. we are very close to Zeus 1.8 making an appearance.

I haven't got 1.8 out yet but 1.9 is now starting to take shape.

There is definite line here where 1.8 stops and 1.9 starts. I've started packaging 1.8: it needs testing, then I need to write up a press release, then I'll ship it. Also, I guess I'm also bundling a free keyfile with it...


12/08/26

o TelnetConnector - bug fixes to the new GUI listviews.
o Prefs/Lines - added an RSA key size cycle gadget beside the "Generate
a new certificate" button on the Telnet configuration.
Key generation is extremely slow on 68k - a 4096-bit key can take
hours on a 50MHz 68060 and cannot be interrupted once started.
o Documentation - wrote up TelnetListener and TelnetConnector in
zeus.guide section 3.6.0.
o Documentation - added "TelnetConnector ARexx Commands" section to
rexx.guide, matching Connector.
o Connector, TelnetConnector and TelnetListener - closing the window now
iconifies, instead of quiting the apps. Mirroring ZMailer and
most other apps designed to run constantly.

13/08/26

o Documentation - RenumberFiles was not described anywhere in
zeus.guide. Added a "Renumbering the file catalogues" section at
the end of chapter 6.
o fbzeus.library - fixed a few performace bugs.
fbDeleteCatFile() flagged a record deleted but never unlinked it from
that list, so deleted records stayed in the chain forever and every
subsequent insert had to step over all records marked as deleted.
fbSaveFile() itself has a performance fix - it no longer walks
the entire area's 'chain' of files to save one (deleted or not).
fbSaveFile() now also operates atomically and so survives failures
better.
fbQuickSave() now works as intended: it avoids rewriting the area's
whole file map once per file added, and was terrible for performance
when doing bulk uploads. Call fbUpdate() (via zmf.library/UpdateFB()!!)
when the run of saves finishes; File Editor does this for Bulk
Upload - the slow performance seen there is now gone.
o fbzeus.library - implemented fbTrim(), which permanently removes
deleted records from an area Reachable from a script or door as
zmf.library/TrimFB(). This previously did nothing.
o FileRebuild - new PURGE option, the offline form of the above. DEL and
DESCRIPTION are now synonyms for it and FULL includes it.
o fbzeus.library - the fileindex.FileNameCRC field now correctly implemented and used to improve file search performance.
o fbzeus.library - fbEditFile() now overwrites a description in place when
the new text fits the old slot, instead of always appending and
orphaning the old copy. Repeated re-describing (FILE_ID.DIZ
extraction, for instance) caused the FileDesc.<area> data file to
grow with dead data, potentially without limit.
o zmf.library - UpdateFB(), RebuildFB(), OptimiseFB(), TrimFB(),
ConvertFB(), RecountFB() and DeleteFileArea() were not implemented.
They now dispatch to the area's file base library.
o Documentation - new "Maintaining the file catalogues" section in
chapter 6 of zeus.guide explaining why deleted and moved files leave
records behind, and how to reclaim the space.
o ZMP - various fixes to the statistics engine for reliability.
o FileEditor - various usability and reliability fixes.
o FileEditor - file validation flags are honoured correctly, a bugfix.

14/08/26

o SysOpReport - a new SysOp report tool to help run the BBS.
Creates a summary report in text of things on the BBS that need
attention from the SysOp. Avoids having to look at everything
in detail every day, which just doesn't happen!
Lists users pending validation, files pending validation, message
areas that look freshly auto-created and unconfigured, message
areas not in any SIG, runs the new ZMP CONFIGTEST, check the
expiry of certificates assocated with the lines.
o RenewLineCertificates - new command that regenerates the
self-signed certificate configured against one telnet line, in
place, from the command line. Follows the same flow as "Generate
a new certificate" button in Prefs/Lines, with the same warnings,
but fully usable remotely and scriptable with NOQUERY.
o SysOpReport - reusing the new code from RenewLineCertificates, added
an option to automatically renew certificates approaching expiry
with no interaction.


******************* Zeus 1.8 Fixed Feature Set **********************


######################### Zeus 1.9 WIP ##############################


18/08/26

o Event Bus - new v1.9 subsystem letting any part of Zeus, or any
script/compiled tool, publish a message about an event onto a named
channel, and have other parts react to it without either side knowing
about the other. Similar to modern message queue systems like RabbitMQ
but very Amiga and Zeus specific.
Beyond discrete events, the Event Bus also supports data streams:
publish a stream to a channel which other processes can consume.
Event Bus has been built to support other projects, not useful by
itself. 'Bus' chosen as the name to reflect the concept of a shared
hardware bus like Zorro.
Event Bus is the realisation of a idea that started its life in 1999,
when we were thinking of what a BBS could become.
o WebhookPost - a new command in that posts an event to
a Discord/Slack-style webhook over HTTPS. A test for the Event Bus.
o SessionLogger - a new app that transcribes one caller's whole session
to a timestamped log file under <Logs>Sessions/. A test for the
Event Bus.
o ChatDoor - a new cross-node chat door for the BBS. Very basic, but
perhaps can be built into some bigger and better. Built entirely on
an Event Bus channel. A test for the Event Bus.
o IRCBridge - a bridge that connects outbound to a real IRC server
and relays ChatDoor traffic to a configured channel, and vice versa. A
test for the Event Bus. Showing how Zeus can start integrating into
the wider internet.
o CronControl - new crontab-syntax job scheduler. While I still recommend
Ron Schnell's cRon - its quality is amazing, a single bug-free 1.0
release in 1996 and running for 30 years - it has been an itch to
give Zeus it's own Cron. CronControl is at feature parity with
cRon and now starting to add features, such as the ability to publish
to Event Bus channels.

--- Mail Manager 1.22x/n #1511
* Origin: 9,600 bps (39:13/0.20)