Survey: What would you like to see (but haven't) in a unix bbs???

[Mark J. Bailey]

First of all, please excuse my cross-posting this so widely.  It is just 
that the opinions we are seeking are needed from a wide spectrum.  With
that said....

We are seriously considering the idea of authoring a new bbs system for unix.
Now I know you are quickly retorting "we've got several, why do we need 
another one?!"  In that sense you are correct.  But aren't there some 
feature(s) here and there that you don't see and would like to?  What about
look and feel?  Are they "friendly" enough?  Now before I go any further,
let me first say that the systems that have gone before have had *MANY*
hours of hard work put into them!  The authors of these systems are to
be commended for the time and effort they have so graciously volunteered.
In no way am I trying to belittle the work they have done.  

So why?  Well, why have two versions of Unix?  Why have several versions
of Lisp or EMACS?  Because, people have different needs, different tastes,
and no one system is everything to everybody, if it were, then where would
the spirit of creation and innovation lie?  

We run a public access site here at raider.  We have a BBS for non-aligned
users from the DOS world.  As SOME of you MAY feel, most unix bbs systems 
are VERY different from a DOS based bbses.  For us, and we have looked at 
about ALL of them, non of the current systems really do what we want, nor
do they fully satisfy our users.  Why run a bbs if your local users don't 
like it?  Our only alternative is to write our own.  It is to have the 
look and feel of a DOS bbs (with color ansi graphics, curses, or plain 
dumb terminal interfacing).  We are planning on developing a command
language interpretter using yacc and lex.  We are also taking our endeavor
very seriously (we are educated in the fields of computer science and are
well experienced in the computer industry).

So you might ask "why are you telling me all this?  Just post to 
comp.sources.unix when you are done and I'll be the judge!"  Well, 
that is true too.  But the jist of my posting here is to introduce
our project to you and, MOST IMPORTANT, to solicit input from the Usenet
community as to what you LIKE or DISLIKE in a unix based bbs system.
DOS USERS:  What DOS bbs features do you miss in unix bbses?  How
important is sysop utilities to aid in operation?  What about installion?
Size?  Capacity?  Usenet News capabilities?  Suggestions for message
and file systems?  Etc.  Etc.  Etc.  If you ever had a gripe about 
a unix bbs, please let us know.  We are *NOT* trying to make a system
that is everything for everybody!  We are just trying to collect ideas
and suggestions (and critisisms) to better enable us to produce something
useful and worthwhile.  No one likes to re-invent the wheel (although
some will be necessary) or waste time on features that were poorly 
designed, or no one liked.

I apologize for this being so long.  We are just now beginning to 
research our wish list and wanted to get your opinions as well.  Thank
you so much for your time and consideration.  Please *EMAIL* responses,
etc., to raider!project (project at raider.MFEE.TN.US) or raider!bbs
(bbs at raider.MFEE.TN.US).  Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Mark J. Bailey
mjb at raider.MFEE.TN.US
RaiderNet Pubilc Access